*^»J''»', 



' . • s » > 




PAST AND PRESENT 



O F 



SIOUX CITY ,,, 



WOODBURY COUNTY, IOWA 



HON. CONSTANT R. MARKS, 
Associate Editor. 



LLUSTRATED 



'A People that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never 

achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by 

remote generations." — MACAULAr. 



CHICAGO : 

The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 
1904 






biography is the only true history." 

— Emerson. 



■l^Z^'l 2_ 



^ 



PREFACE 



Sioux t'itv and Woodbury (.'oiiiity luivo had history in whirh the people may take just pride. 
In securing the services of Hon. (.'onstant 1'. ilark in the compilation of the history, the pub- 
lisliers feel that they have secured the one man well qualified to do justice to the work, and 
tlie citizens of the county and city may well be congratulated on the result. 

The biographical sketches incorporated with the work are of special interest, our corp of 
writers liaving gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their enterprise and in- 
dustry-, brought this county to a rank second to none among those comprising this great and 
noble state, and from their lips have tlic story of their life struggles. No more interesting or 
instructive matter could be jiresented to an intelligent public. In this volume will be found 
a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of coming generations. It tells how some, 
commencing life in poverty, by industry and economy have accumulated wealtli. It tells how 
others, witli limited advantages for securing an education, have become learned men and wom- 
en, witli an influence extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men 
who have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and wliose names have 
liecome famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records 
how that success has usually crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very many, who, not 
seeking tlie apphuise of the world, have pursued tiie "even tenor of their way,"" content to have 
it said of tliem, as Christ said of the woman perforndng a deed of mercy — "They have done 
what they could." It tells how many, in the pride and strength of young manhood, left the plow 
and the anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and 
at their country's call went forth valiantly "to do or die," and how through their efforts the 
Union was restored and peace once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and 
of every woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from 
the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records and which 
would otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work and 
every opportunity possible given to those represented to insure correctness in \\hat lias been 
written; and the publishers flatter themselves that they give to their readers a work with few 
errors of consequence. In addition to biographical sketches, portraits of a number of repre- 
sentative citizens are given. 

The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. For 
this the publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work, some refused 
to give the information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. Occasion- 
ally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such opposition 
the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men never could be 
found, though repeated calls were made at their residence or place of business. 

October, 1904. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



CRAIG L. WEIGHT. 

Craig L. Wright, lawyer and a counselor of 
the Eepublican party of Iowa, has been an in- 
fluential factor in his i)rofcssion ami in public 
life, esjiecially in jjolitical circles, since he took 
uji his abode in early manhood in Sioux City 
to find in the growing west the coveted oppor- 
tunities for business advancement and success. 
Much greater credit is commonly awarded to 
those who have risen from the depths of jdov- 
crly thrmigli stcni adversity to the highest place 
of honor among men, than to those to whom for- 
tune has been kinder, who were liorn oi hon- 
orable ancestry and reared in the lap of luxury. 
The rare example iif sons of great men rising 
as high or higher than their fathers seems to 
support the notion that there is in this counti-y 
a soi-t of hereditary bar to such distinction. 
This class of young men are not rated by their 
associates, but in comparison with their dis- 
tinguished ancestors, and often to l)ear an il- 
lustrious name is to invite the shafts of jeal- 
ousy and envy. .\s a western editor has ex- 
pressed it: "If any section of a house still 
honored rises to greatness he will have achieved 
it. lie will not lie born to it or find it thrust 
upon him, and lie must be very great indeed to 
overcome the disadvantage of standing in the 
shadow of the colossal dead." And yet, an 
honorable ancestry is a precious heritage, a 
supreme help to the aspiring young man. Of 
this Craig L. Wright can boast and yet his 
position of eminence at the bar and in the puli- 
lic life of Iowa is due to his own inherent force 



of character, his strong purpose, his unwearied 
industry and the exercise of his native talents, 
for he has won his prominence in a calling and 
along lines where distinction must be gained 
by individual merit and close jjersonal applica- 
tion. 

The family of which he is a representative 
was established in Pennsylvania in 1720 by an 
emigrant from Wales, whose descendants lived 
in the Keystone state for several generations. 
John Wright, the grandfather of Craig L. 
Wright, was born in Pennsylvania aiul was a 
mason by trade. In early life he married Miss 
Rachel Seaman and his death occurred in 
Bloomington, Indiana, in 1825. His widow 
survived him for many years and lived in Iowa 
in its territorial days, her last years being 
spent in Keosauqua, where her death occurred 
in 1850. Hon. George G. Wright, the father 
of Craig L. Wright, was born in Bloomington, 
Monroe county, Indiana, ilareli 4, 18-!0, and 
died at the age of seventy-six years. His pre- 
limiiuiry education was supi^lemented by a 
course of study in the University of Indiana, 
in which he was gradiiated when in his twen- 
ti( til j'ear. He read law with his brother Joseph 
\^'right, who afterward became governor of In- 
diana. He resided in his native state until the 
early '40s, when he came to Iowa, settling in 
Keosauqua, where he resided until the early 
'60s. He then became a resident of Des 
Moines, but prior to this time he had attained 
prominence in connection with public affairs 
in his adopted state. A lawyer by profession, 



PAST AND PRESENT OE WOODBUHY COUNTY 



he was elected judge of the supreme ci>urt of 
Iowa in 1S5,">, and served npim the beiieh for 
fifteen years or until ISTl', and at different 
times served as chief justice of the state. On 
his retirement from the bench he was chosen 
to the office of United States senator, where he 
served for a term of six years and then declined 
a second nomination. On the bench he won 
marked distinction. A man of unimpeachable 
character, of unusual intellectual endowment, 
with a thorough knowledge of the law, patience, 
urbanity and industry, he took to the iiench 
the very highest qualifications for this respon- 
sible office in the state government, and his rec- 
ord as a judge was in harmony with his record 
as a man and lawyer, distinguished by unswerv- 
ing integrity and a masterful grasp of every 
problem which presented itself for solution. 
He was the best known of the older statesmen 
of Iowa and his influence was a j^otent element 
in shaping the jiolicy of the commonwealth, in 
promoting its substantial development and in 
upholding its intellectual and legal status. He 
took a deep and commendable interest in Iowa's 
pi'ogress along other lines outside the strict path 
of the law and Avas president of the State Agri- 
cultural Society for several terms, laboring 
earnestly in its behalf in early days. His 
early political allegiance was given to the Whig 
party, and he was the Wliig candidate for con- 
gress when his district comprised the whole 
sotithern half of the state. His election as chief 
justice of Iowa occurred in .Tanuary, 18.5."), 
when he was not yet thirty-five years of age. 

Judge Wright was married in Van Bui'en 
county, Iowa, October lit, 18-t;^, to Miss Han- 
nah ^I. Dibble, daughter of Thomas and Kuth 
(Gates) Dibble. j\Irs. Wright was born in 
Saratoga county, Xew York, near the cele- 
brated springs, and came to Iowa with her 
parents in 1839. She was a representative of 
an old Xew England family that was estab- 
lished in Connecticut during the colonial epoch 
of our country's history and from the Charter 
Oak state repi-esentatives of the name removed 



to Xew York early in the eighteenth century. 
Her death occurred in .Tune, 1898, when she 
was seventy-four years of age. Jiidge and 
^Mrs. AVright have five children : Carroll, who 
is an attorney IVir the Kock Island Railroad 
Company at Des ^loines ; Craig L., ; ]Mrs. 
Frank H. Peavey, who died in ilinncapolis 
in August, 1903; Mrs. E. H. Stone, of Sioux 
City, and George G., who is a broker in Des 
Moines, Iowa. 

Craig L. Wright was born in Keosauqua, 
Iowa, Decend)er .J, lS4(i, and attended the piib- 
lic schools there until his fifteenth year, when 
he entered the college department of the State 
University, in which he was graduated four 
years later. The following year he received 
his diploma from the law department of the 
same institution at Des !Moines and he was a 
law student in the office of Withrow & Wright 
at Des !Moines until his admission to the bar 
in 1868. Immediately afterward he came to 
Sioux City, believing that this new but rapidly 
developing town afforded a good field for pro- 
fessional success. He entered into partner- 
ship with William L. Joy, under the firm style 
of Joy & Wright, a relation that was main- 
tained until 1884. During the succeeding three 
years A. L. Hudson was connected with them 
and at the end of that time IMr. Wright with- 
drcAV and practiced alone until 1890, when the 
law firm of Wright iV: IIubl)ard was formed, 
his partner being Senator E. H. Hubbard. Be- 
tween the years 1890 and 1896 George A. Yeo- 
man and T. W. Bevington were also associated 
with ]\[r. Wright in law practice. In 1896 A. 
F. Call was associated with them under the 
firm style of Wright, Call i: Hubbard, and 
since the withdrawal of Mr. Hubbard from the 
firm in 1902 the business style has been Wright 
(S: Call. In the early history of the bar of Sioux 
City its attorneys attended court at Vermilion, 
Elk Point, Yankton, Cherokee and in Monona. 
Harrison, O'Brien, Osceola and Sioux counties, 
'SU: Wright having considerable law business 
at all these points. He has never engaged to 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



any great extent in the iiraetice of eriniinal 
law, but has devoted his energies to other de- 
partments of jurisprudence and has gained fame 
as a counselor. He has given much of his time 
to the preparation of law briefs for the ap^^el- 
late court and his been regarded as a deep and 
thorough student of the law and one who has 
comprehensive and accurate knowledge of many 
of its branches. His practice has been of a 
varied character in civil law, sometimes acting 
as the counselor and advocate of corjjorations 
and again as their opponent. Dtiring the days 
of Sioux City's rapid growth, when it was 
undergoing what is known in modern parlance 
as a "boom," Mr. Wright was the counselor 
who assisted in organizing the corporations 
which did business here, probably doing more of 
such legal work than any other lawyer. Among 
the many which, as attorney, Mr. Wright 
organized were the old Sioux City Cable Rail- 
road Company that built its line on Jackson 
street, the elevated road operated under the 
name of the Sioux City Rapid Transit Com- 
pany, the Union Stockyards Company, the 
Sioux City tt Northern Railroad Company, 
the Terminal Railroad fr Warehouse Company, 
the Pacific Short Line, and the Northern Land 
Company. He has ever had a distinctively 
representative clientage. He is felicitous and 
clear in argument, thoroiighly in earnest, full 
of the vigor of conviction, never abusive of ad- 
versaries, imbued with highest courtesy and 
yet one of the most able practitioners at the 
Iowa bar, an opponent whom the weaker lawyer 
dreads to meet and whom the stronger repre- 
sentative of the profession regards as a foe for 
whom he must put forth his best preparation. 
In politics Mr. Wright has held much the 
same position that he has held in the laM". He 
has been the manager and adviser and while 
his plans have shaped many campaigns and he 
has always been closely identified with politics, 
laboring earnestly and unceasingly for the in- 
terests of his friends, he has never sought or de- 
sired political honors or emoluments for him- 



self. The only political position he has ever 
tilled was that of city attorney, in which office 
he served in 1870 and 1871. 

In 1873 Mr. Wright was married to Miss 
Kate P. Van Dyke, the wedding being cele- 
brated at Keokuk. Two children have been 
born unto them: Wilfred L., who is now man- 
ager of the Xew York ofiice of the Bethlehem 
Steel Works of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and 
Mary L., who is now a student in an eastern 
college. In business circles and in public life 
ilr. Wright is rather austere in manner, there 
being about him a dignity which forbids fa- 
miliar approach. In private life, however, he 
is described as a most companionable gentle- 
man, genial, society -loving and a prince of 
story tellers. His attention from early man- 
hood, however, has been directed to his pro- 
fession and he is at home in all departments 
of the law, from the minutiae in practice to 
the greater topic wherein are involved the con- 
sideration of the ethics and ijhilosophy of juris- 
prudence and the higher concern of public 
policy, but he is not learned in the law alone, 
for he has studied long and carefully the sub- 
jects that are to the statesman and the man of 
affairs of the greatest import — the questions of 
tinancc, political economy, sociology — and has 
kept abreast of the best thinking men of the 
a Of. 



LEWIS B. JEJsWESS. 

Lewis B. Jenness, the poj^ular postmaster of 
Danbury and editor and proprietor of The Dan- 
bury Review, is a native of this section of Iowa, 
his birth having occurred in Monona county on 
the 23d of December, 1871. He is a son of 
^r. J. P. and Rachel (Wilcox) Jenness. For 
forty years the father has engaged in auction- 
eering and has cried more sales than any other 
man in northwestern Iowa. 

The elementary education of Lewis B. Jen- 
ness was obtained in the common schools near 



10 



PAST AXD PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



his boyhood home and was supplemented by a 
normal course. On the 30th of September, 
1894, Mr. Jenuess was united in marriage to 
Miss Maud C. Adams, a native of Vermont, 
and they have become the parents of three chil- 
dren, two sons and one daughter, namely: 
Joyce, born July 6, 1896 ; John C, born Janu- 
ary 2S, 1899 ; and Randolph, born November 
10, 1901. 

Fraternally Mr. Jeuness is a member of the 
Masonic order, being made a Mason in 1901, 
and also belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge and 
encamj^ment. In polities he is an ardent Re- 
publican and has taken quite an active interest 
in public aifairs. On the 1st of July, 1901, he 
was app<nnted postmaster of Danbury, which 
oftice is of the fourth class, and he has since 
acceptably filled that position. He is pi'o- 
gressive and public-spirited and both personally 
and through the columns of his paper does all 
in his power to ;i<h-anc(' rlie iiirerests of his town 
and countv. 



Wir.LTAM M. 8TEVEXS. 

William ^1. Stewns, the superintendent of 
the public schools of 8ion\ ( 'iry. has for a mnii- 
bcr of years been identified wirli edticMlioiial 
interests here and to his zeal, cnrerju-isc and 
ability is largely attributable the high stand- 
ing of the schools at the present day. Education 
is the basis of industrial success, for without 
the hand disciplined to execute and the mind 
trained to ])lan and direct the industrial or- 
ganization the modern commonwealth could 
not exist. The state recognizes this not onlv in 
its watchful care and endowment of its common 
schools, but in the higher institutions of learn 
ing that have been established for both mental 
and manual culture, and there is no gri'ater 
work to which the individual may direct his 
labors than that of teaching, whether it be 
from the schoolroom, the pulj)it or the lecture 



platform. The career of Professor Stevens as 
an educator has been one of continuous and 
consecutive advancement and each forward step 
has opened to him a wider tield of labor and 
broader scope for the exercise of his native 
talents and acquired ability. 

Professor Stevens was born in the town of 
Sutton, New Hampshire, Xovember 27, 1852, 
and at an early age he entered the preparatory 
department of the Isew London Literary & 
Scientific Institution, where on the comple- 
tion of a regular course he was graduated with 
valedictorian honors in the class of 1874. That 
was then one of the best educational institu- 
tions of Xew England. He thoroughly pre- 
pared himself for his life work of teaching by 
studying with such well known educators as 
Dr. Harris, Dr. G. Stanley Hall, Madam 
Ivrause, Colonel F. W. Parker and others who 
have won note in the field of educational labor. 
While pursuing his own course he engaged in 
teaching in graded schools during the winter 
months. Following the completion of his col- 
lege work he pursued special courses in the sci- _ 
ences at the School of Technology in Boston, 
studying phil<isophy under Dr. W. T. Harris, 
tlie history of ediu-uion and psychology under 
Dr. (i. Stanley Hall and kindergarten methods 
under ^ladam Krause, of Xew York. He also 
studied jiedagogy and psychology under Colonel 
Parker, of Chicago. Since that time he has 
filled various positions as principal of large 
grammar schools and high schools and each 
change that he has made has indicated promo- 
tion and advancement. In the fall of 1874 he 
was elected principal of the high school of Han- 
cock. Xew Hampshire, and superintendent of 
the town scliools and on his retirement from 
that position a local paper commented as fol- 
lows: "We regret to say our highly respected 
l)rineipal. W. M. Stevens, has been called to 
Manchester, Xew Hampshire, as the principal 
of the West ilanchestcr schools." His success 
dnriiur the five vears in which he filled the lat- 




W. M. STEVEXS. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



13 



ter position is best told in the words of the 
Manchester Union: "We were shown to the 
diiTerent rooms and in each the brightest look- 
ing iKipils were seen, their smiling faces at- 
testing the popularity of their principal, W. 
]\I. Stevens, who, we are sorry to say, is about 
to enter a much larger tield of educational work 
in Quincy, Massachusetts." Concerning his 
work in the latter place, report for 1882 or 1883 
contains the following: "Mr. Stevens has ac- 
ccpteil a jiositiiin in Sdinerville, ^rassachusetts, 
at an advance of sixty per cent on his present 
salary. His work in Quincy has lieen highly 
acceptable and wholly satisfactory to all con- 
nected with the schools and to the citizens." 
At each transition stage in his career Professor 
Stevens has taken up his work with renewed 
courage, zeal and energy, and often the difficul- 
ties of his diiferent positions have seemed 
to serve as an impetus for renewed ef- 
fort. On leaving Sonierville, he accepted 
the superintendency of the schools on 
Staten Island, New York, where again he 
was given a largely increased salary and again 
he won the favorable comment of the press, the 
Staten Island Star saying: "Superintendent 
W. M. Stevens is beyond all diiiibt the man 
for the place. Understanding thoroughly the 
system he was l>rought here to introduce, his 
eminent executive aliility enables him to dem- 
onstrate every dejiartnient of school work effi- 
ciently and impartially." 

Business interests brought Professor Stevens 
to Sioux City in ISSti and here he has been 
well known as a factor in educational circles 
and his efforts have been far reaching and bene- 
ficial in the promotion of the school intei-ests. 
In 1889 he was chosen a member of the board 
of directors of the city schools and acted in 
that capacity until 1892. He served as princi- 
pal of the Armstrong school for four years and 
was then principal of the Hopkins and Smith 
schools for three years, while in January, 1901, 
he entered upon the duties of superintendent of 



the Sioux City public schools, in which capacity 
he has since been retained. 

Professor Stevens was married July 22, 
1878, to Miss Fannie Townsend, a daughter of 
Samuel Townsend, of Xew Hamjjshire, who is 
a farmer and stock-raiser. They have three 
children: Clyde, Ruth and Earl, who are at- 
tending the |)ublic sehtiols of Sioux ( 'ity, Clyde 
being now a student in the high school. Pro- 
fessor Stevens and his wife hohl membership in 
the Unitarian church and he has membership 
relations with the ilasonic fraternity, the An- 
cient Order of United Workmen, the Modern 
Brotherhood and the Fraternal Union. His 
political allegiance has been given to the Re- 
publican party and he feels a public-spirited 
interest in the welfare and j^rogress of city, 
state and nation. In the line of his profession 
he is connected with the National Teachers' 
Association and he is a member of the executive 
council of the Iowa State Teachers' Associa- 
tion. He has fully kept in touch with the best 
thinking men of the age in the line of his pro- 
fession and also along lines of thought touch- 
ing the general interests of society. He is a 
recognized factor in the higher social circles in 
Sioux City and is a man of broad culture and 
scholarly attaiimients who has, moreover, an 
abiding charity and deep syni])athy that have 
gained him tlic respect and confidciice of his 
fellow men. 



JAilES BAYXA:\r. 



In the year 1886 James Baynam became a 
resident of Woodluirv county and is now en- 
gaged in general farming on section 22, Union 
township, where he owns and ojierates eighty 
acres of land, pleasantly located within two 
miles of Correctionville. Among the adopted 
sons of Iowa that England has furnished to the 
new world he is numbered, his birth having 
occurred in Monmouthshire on the 15th of 
June, 1857. He spent the first fifteen years of 



14 



PAST AND PRESENT OP WOODBUEY COUNTY 



his life in his native land and during that time 
enjoyed good educational jirivileges. In 1872, 
however, he hade adieu to friends and native 
country and with an uneh' came to America, 
locating in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He there 
began working in a foundry, in which he was 
employed for two years, after which he turned 
his attention to farm work. Later he was en- 
gaged in the manufacture of grain cradles and 
also continued as a farm laborer, being in the 
cmidoy of one man for seven years. He came 
to Iowa in the sjiring of 1882, locating first in 
Ida county, where he secured a tract of land, 
tipon whi<di he began fariinng nu his iiwn ac- 
count. He was married in that comity and 
when three years had passed he removed to 
Woodbury county and operated a rented farm 
for two years. He located where he now resides 
in 1888, broke the fields, fenced the place, 
erected buildings and made many other impor- 
tant improvements. His farm at first com- 
])rised but forty acres, but later he added to 
this tract and now has a good place of eighty 
acres. He also farms another tract of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres and as an agriculturist 
he is well known because of his ]jractical and 
progressive methods. He has planted fruit 
and shade trees, has added many modern 
equipments, and in addition to the production 
of the cereals best adapted to soil and cliumfe 
he is engaged in the raising of stock, and both 
branches of his business are jiroving ])rotirable. 
In Ida county, Iowa, in ]March, iss;!, ^\v. 
Baynam was unite<l in marriage to .Miss Mag- 
dalena Pierce, a native of Ireland, born in 
County Fermanagh. There her girlhood days 
were passed and when a yonng lady she umde 
the voyagi' to the new woi'ld and took u|i Iier 
abode in Ida county, this state. Two children 
have been born of this marriage, John J. and 
Emma Margaret. The parents attend service's 
at the Methodist Episcopal church but are not 
identified Avith any religious organization 
through membership relations. He exercises 
his right of franchise in suiiiiort of the men and 



measures of the Kepublican party and has 
served as township trustee for six years. He 
has been school director for eight years, is the 
present incundicnt in that office and has twice 
served on the school board. His residence in 
Iowa coA'crs twenty-two years and during that 
]K'riod he has conducted a profitable business 
as a farmer. He had no ea]iital with which to 
start out in life wlu'u he came to the west, but 
he realized that labor is the basis of all success 
and upon that safe and sure fotmdation he has 
builded his jjrosperity. Frugality, energy and 
strong purpose have been salient factors in his 
career. He and his wife are numbered among 
the hos])itable, social ]ieople of ["nion town- 
shij) and have gained many warm friends there. 



THO-MAS JEFFEKSOX STOXE. 

I'honias Jefferson Stone, deceased, passed 
away at the age of seventy-nine years after a 
residence of forty-eighf years in Sioux City. 
Not only did Mr. Sfoni' witness the development 
of W'ooillinrv county from a wild eoiantry with 
only a fc^w white inhabitants to a rich agri- 
cultural and connnercial district, containing 
thousands of good homes an<l many growing 
towns ami cities inhabited by an industrious, 
prosperous, enlightened and jjrogressive peo- 
]ilc, bnt he participated in and assisted the slow, 
]iersistent work of development, which was nec- 
essary to ])roduce a change which is so com- 
plete thai it may almost be termed magical. 
He came to northwestern Iowa in 1856 and 
was for many years an active factor in real 
estate and financial circles and nj) to the time 
of his death \\iis a director of one of the lead- 
ing baidvs of Sioux City. He continued as a 
factor in the active affairs of his adopted state 
n|) to the time of his demise and no resident 
of Sioux ( ity was more uniformly honored 
and respected than Mr. Stone. 

A native of Xew York he was born in Roy- 
alfon. Niagara county, on the 13th i;if .Vugust, 




Im^ 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COlXTV 



n 



1S:.'5, his jiarents being Isaiah P. and Mercy 
(Sawyer) Stone. His boyhood days were spent 
uiion his father's farm until he had attained 
the age of tifteen years and during that perii.id 
he sf)ent about tliree or four months each win- 
ter in attending the district school. He after- 
ward entered Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio, 
with the intention of pursuing a full course 
of study in that institution, but when in his 
freshman year his healtli failed and he was 
obliged to abandon the idea of pursuing a lite- 
rary cotirse. He traveled westward with a sur- 
veying party and was thus engaged in Wiscon- 
sin and Iowa in locating land grants, following 
that profession until 1856. During that period 
he also spent four years in the ottice of the 
treasurer of Linn county, Iowa, occasionally 
going into the field with chain and compass, 
doing considerable surveying for the govern- 
ment. For a short time before leaving llarion, 
the county seat of Linn county, he was engaged 
in the banking business under the firm style of 
Smyth, Stone & Company. 

ilr. Stone came to Sioux City in May, 1856, 
and began operating in real estate, continuing 
in that business until 1874, with splendid suc- 
cess. For many years he paid taxes for more 
than one thousand persons and did more as 
land agent and in other capacities in entering 
government lands and i:)romoting the settlement 
of northwestern loAva than any other one man. 
He has, indeed, been one of the builders of this 
commonwealth and his name is inseparably in- 
terwoven with the history of the northwestern 
portion of the state. In 1867 he opened a pri- 
vate bank, which he conducted in connection 
with his landed operations, continuing in this 
for thiu" years, when in 1870 he organized the 
First Xational. The work of the organiza- 
tion was perfected August 30, 1870, and the 
new institution opened its doora for business 
with the following officers in charge : A. "\Y. 
Hubbard, president, and Thomas J. Stune, 
cashier. The bank was capitalized for one 
hundred thousand dollars and succeeded the 



private Ijanking house ni Thomas J. Stone. 
At a later date ^Ir. Sti.me was chosen presi- 
dent of the bank and continued in that capa- 
city until IS'.I'J, while his sou, E. H. Stone, 
held the position of cashier. For a number of 
years he gave little attention to real estate 
operations outside of Sioux City, his undivid- 
ed time and energies being devoted to the up- 
building of the banking business and to the 
promotion of various other interests. He 
owiu'd much jiropt'rty within the corporation 
limits of the city, including some of its best 
business blocks. He was director at the time 
ui his death of the ilerchants' Xational Bank, 
which was organized in January, 1900, with 
a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. 
After his retirement from active connection 
with the banking business, he was associated 
with his son in real estate operations and u], 
to his death devoted his attention to this line 
of activity, although one of the oldest men 
of the city. Among his contributions to public 
enterprises may be mentioned the following: 
Fifteen hundred dollars toward building the 
Hubbard House, now the ^londamin Hotel, five 
hundred dollars to the Grand Opera House and 
ten thousand dollars toward building the Pacific 
Short Line Railway. 

On the 12th of May, 1852, Mr. Stone was 
united in marriage to Miss Alice A. Heathcote, 
of Blount Vernon, Ohio, and unto them were 
born a son and daughter. The former, E. H. 
Stone, is a gradiiate of Yale College and had 
for a number of years been his father's active 
associate in extensive and important business 
enterprises in Sioux City. The daughter, Alice 
E., is the wife of George P. Day, cashier of 
the Merchants' I\"ational Bank of Sioux City. 
Mr. Stone lost his first wife in 1882 and in 
1886 he married Mrs. Frances A. Flint. He 
we was afterward married to Mrs. Emma Q. 
Hedges, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, the wed- 
ding being celebrated in that city on the 7th 
of July, 1892. She was formerly the wife of 
Charles E. Hedges of the firm of C. E. and 



PAS'J' AXL) PKESKNT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



D. T. Hedges, of Siraix City, jn-omiiiciit in the 
development and upLmildiug of this pDi-tiuii of 
the state. 

In public aH'airs Mr. Stone has been prouii- 
neut aud influential and few men have as inti- 
mate, close and accurate knoMdedge of the pub- 
lic life and the development of Sioux City and 
of northwestern Iowa as has the subject of 
this review. During his early residence here 
he was clerk in the oflice of the cotinty treas- 
urer and was very careful and efficient in the 
discharge of his duties as in every other posi- 
tion of life. From 1861 until 1866 he was 
county treasurer. In JSTovember, 1856, he 
served as foreman of the grand jury at the fall 
term of court, a session made memorable on 
account of this being the first time in which 
the court records were kept. He was the first 
assessor of Sioux City, and aside from his office 
holdings he has put forth earnest, eifective and 
beneficial effort for the welfare, progress and 
development of this place. He was treastirer 
of the corporation which built the water woi'ks 
plant, and afterward turned it over to the con- 
trol of the city. The plant is a model and has 
often been referred to as an instance of suc- 
cessful municipal ownership. He was presi- 
dent of the Library & Building Association, 
which erected the magnificent stone building at 
the corner of Sixth and Douglas streets; was 
a charter member and officer of the Siotix City 
Academy of Science & Letters ; and belonged 
to a nundier of other literary, scientific and so- 
cial organizations. He was also one of the 
chief spirits of the biiilding of the First Con- 
gregational church and of the Samaritan Hos- 
pital. He made frequent and substantial con- 
tributions to the Samaritan Hospital, and also 
furnished and fitted np a room at the hospital 
which was called the Stone room. He was 
justly proud of the fact that he aided in build- 
ing the library building and the city hall, and 
his last public and official act on earth was to 
preside as chairman of the meeting of the Sioux 
Citv Academy of Science tV Letters in that 



splendid building. His death occurred sud- 
denly from heart failure on Tuesday, April 
I'J, 1904:, and one of the largest concourses of 
people ever seeu in Sioux City was that which 
gathered at his bier, the best and last tribtite 
of respect paid his memory. He was laid to 
rest with Masonic rites and a jn'ofusion of 
floral tokens indicated the warm friendship 
which had been entertained for him. In the 
funeral services his pastor said : 

"Mr. Stone had in large measure the qual- 
ities called for in the type of citizen that makes 
a community rich. What is it you ask for 
in the citizen whom a city delights to honor ? 
You surely ask that he be a home maker, a 
home lover. Mr. Stone was pre-eminently 
these. His home was his shrine. His was the 
clean, unselfish life without which there can 
be no home. To the home he gave his best. 
For it he reserved his best. He made his home 
licautiftil within and without. He enriched it 
with rare books which made him contemporary 
with the men of all ages, a trtie citizen of the 
World. Let the community prize its true home 
makers. It can not honor them too highly. 

"How he measured up to the conceptions of 
a true man of public spirit, giving not only 
of his means, but lavishly of time and thought, 
in labors of love that brought no compensation, 
Init that ^vhich always accompanies heroic sac- 
rifice, his colleagues in large enterprises vital 
to the community's welfare — like the establish- 
ment of the city water system and the erection 
rif the city building — bear ready and ungrudg- 
ing testimony. 

"The loss of this life to the community, af- 
fluent as it is in men tried and ti'ue, is great. 
To more than one home in our midst it is a 
loss irreparable. May those of the comminiity 
still left in the ranks give yet more valiant serv- 
ice to make up, if possible, in a measure foi 
the comrade who has fallen. And may the 
God of all comfort have the stricken wife and 
children in His holy keeping, sustaining them 
in the tender embrace of the everlasting: arms." 



I'AST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



19 



W. F. Mc(HlTTY, :\1. 1). 

Dr. W. F. McQuittv, who is one of the prom- 
inent nieniliers of the nieilical jirofession and 
the ohlest practitioner in ( 'orreetionville and 
tiie northeastern part of the county, has re- 
sided here since March, 188:3, and his pro- 
fessional skill and upright life have gained 
for him uot only business success, but also the 
esteem and confidence of his fellow men. A 
native of Missouri, he was born in Boone 
county on the 15th of January, 1852, and is 
of Scotch lineage. His grandfather, David 
McQuitty, was one of the early settlers of Mis- 
souri, establishing his home there in 1818. 
The father, A. J. McQuitty, was also a native 
of ]\Iissouri, born in Howard county. There 
he was reared, spending the days of his child- 
hood and youth in attendance at the public 
schools and iu assisting in the work of the 
farm. He afterward removed to Boone coun- 
ty, Missouri, where he was married to Miss 
Elizabeth Hawkins, a native of Kentucky. He 
still resides uiion the farm there and is now a 
hale and hearty old man of seventy-eight years. 
He lost his wife, however, in 1898. They were 
the parents of three children, of whom two are 
still living, the brother of Dr. McQuitty being 
J. D. McQuitty, of Columbia, Missouri. 

In the usual manner of farmer lads of that 
locality and period Dr. McQuitty was reared 
to manhood in Boone county, Missouri. He 
attended the University of Missouri, but 'ifter 
completing his junior year was taken ill wiih 
measles which left him with chronic larjniigitis 
and poor health generally. He was ill for 
almost a year and conseqviently did not com- 
plete his academic course. He has kept tip 
his scientific and literary studies, however, 
through the periisal of scientific and medical 
works by the leading authors of the day. After 
completing his literary education he took up 
the study of medicine in the same institution, 
pursuing his first course of lectures in 1878 
and graduating with the class of 1879. He 
began practice in Woodlandville, where he con- 



timied for about four years ami in ^lareh, 1883, 
he came to Iowa, ojjening an office in (.'orrec- 
tionvilk', where he has since remained in active 
practice, Jiis bttsiness extending over a radius 
of ten or fifteen miles. Almost from the be- 
ginning of his residence here he has enjoyed 
a very extensive i^atronage and his practice in 
the year 1903 was greater than ever before. He 
Ijursued a post-graduate course in the Post- 
Graduate School of Chicago in 1898 and he 
is a member of the Woodbury County Medical 
Society, the Sioux Valley Medical Association, 
the Northwestern Iowa Association and the 
Iowa State Medical Society. He takes a very 
active interest in his profession from the sci- 
entific standpoint and from the humanitarian 
standpoint as Avell, and he has carried help 
and hojJe into many a household in the north- 
western part of the county. He is well known 
to the medical profession throughout the state 
and has gained an enviable reputation as one 
of its most able and learned representatives. 

On the 23d of June, 1887, at Malvern, Iowa, 
Dr. McQuitty was married to Miss Rachel M. 
Braunian, a native of Ireland, who was reared 
and educated in Illinois and Iowa. She be- 
came a teacher in the schools of Correctionville 
and was well known here because of her ex- 
cellent work in behalf of the public school sys- 
tem. Two children have been born unto Dr. 
and Mrs. McQuitty, Fielding and Fanny. 

Dr. McQuitty gives his political allegiance 
to the Jeffersonian Democracy and cast his first 
presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden in 1876, 
while his last vote was cast for W. J. Bryan. 
He has never sought or desired public office, 
l)ut has always been a warm friend of progress 
and improvement and has been especially act- 
ive in support of good schools. He is now 
serving for the fourth term as a director of the 
city schools of Correctionville and is president 
of the board. Dr. ilcQuitty is a member of 
the Baptist church, while his wife belongs to 
the Congregational church. He is likewise a 
'Master Mason and he and his wife are con- 



PAS'J' AXU PI?p]SEi\T OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



nectcd with the Eastern Star, lie also belongs 
to the Modern Woodmen Caiiip and to the 
Knights of Pythias Lodge. He is well known 
as a siiccessful i^ractitioner of western Iowa, 
as a man of good business ability and a jmblie- 
spirited citizen. He has built and improved 
residence property in Correetionville and he 
takes an active and helpful interest in the ad- 
vancement and upbuilding of this place, where 
he is widely known as a man of integrity and 
moral A\-orth. 



JUDGE G. W. WAKEFIELD. 

George Washington Wakefield, who since 
ISSfi has occupied the position of district judge 
of the fourth judicial district of Iowa, is a 
representative member of the Sioux City bar, 
whose career has conferred honor upon the peo- 
ple who have honored him. He comes of a 
family distinctively American in both direct 
and collateral lines and his ancestry is traced 
back through eight generations to John Wake- 
field, who was a shipwright and boatman and re- 
sided in Boston, ilassachusetts, where he died 
in the year 1007. His son, John Wakefield, 
was born in Kilt), also became a shipwright, 
made his home in Boston and died in the year 
170:?. He was the father of John Wakefield, 
third, who followed in the business footsteps of 
the preceding members of the family and whose 
birth occurred in 166S, while his death occiirred 
in 1735. His son Joseph Wakefield was born in 
Massachu.setts in 1701 and died in 1732. He 
was the father of Thomas Wakefield, the great- 
great-grandfather of Judge Wakefield, who was 
liorn in Boston, Aiigust 5, 1727, and died in 
Amherst, ISTew Hampshire, in 1791. He had 
followed the dual ]nirsuit of carpentering and 
farming. The great-grandfather, Joseph Wake- 
field, was liorn in Reading, Massachtisetts, 
May tt, 1752, followed the occtipation of farm- 
ing as a life work, served as a member of the 
Patriot armv in the Revolutiouarv war and was 



in the memorable battle of Bunker Hill. He 
died in Windsor, Vermont, in June, 1827. His 
son, Joseph Wakefield, the grandfather of 
.ludge Wakefield, was born in Amherst, New 
Hampshire, October 7, 1779, carried on agri- 
cultural pursuits, founded the family in the 
Empire state and died in Watertown, New 
York, May 6, 1842. Orin Wakefield, the fa- 
ther, was b(iru in Watertown, Xew Y^ork, 
August 27, 1808. and died in DeWitt, Illinois, 
]\tay 3, 1885. He, too, had carried on agricul- 
tural jinrsuits. 

Kai'ly geiieratidns of the family were identi- 
fied with shipbuilding, but later generations 
were rejjresentatives of agrictiltural life, and it 
was upon the home farm which his father estab- 
lished in Illinois that Judge Wakefield was 
I'eared, early becoming familiar with the duties 
and labors that fall to the lot of the agricultur- 
ist. He attended school during the winter 
mouths and from the time of early spring 
|)lanting until crojjs were harvested in the late 
atitumu he spent his time in the fields. It is 
a well established fact that the strongest men 
of the nation have passed their boyhood days 
ami<l rural surroundings or in small country 
towns and from such environment they seem 
to gain a strength of purpose and a character 
that forms a splendid foundation for accom- 
plishment in Iftter manhood. In his eighteenth 
year -ludge Wakefield entered the jsreparatory 
dcpartnicut of Lombard University at Gales- 
liurg, Illinois, remaining in school for a year 
anil thereafter attending for an occasional term 
as he found opportunity, thtis pursuing an 
elective coiirse. He gave special prominence to 
the study of mathematics, in which branch he 
displayed exceptional ability. He was a young 
man of twenty-one j-ears when, on the 27th of 
July, 1861, in response to his coiuitry's call for 
aid he enlisted in Company F of the Forty-first 
Illinois Infantry as a private soldier and on the 
7th of August, following, he was mustered into 
the United States service with the rank of cor- 
])oral. On the 9th of October, 18fil, he was sent 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY CUUNTY 



23 



to the liosi^ital with a severe affaek of fever, 
from which he did not recover in time to join 
his regiment until the latter part of Febmiai-y, 
186:2. He then remained with his couiniand 
until after tlie expiration of his three yeai's' 
term of service, when he was mustered out on 
the 2()tli of August, 1864, with the rank of 
first sergeant. He particijiated in a nund)er of 
important engagements, including the battle of 
Shiloh and the siege of Corinth, Vicksbiirg and 
Jackson. He was wounded iu the charge of 
Laumau's brigade at Jackson, ilississijipi, July 
1l', 1863, and experienced all the hardshijis and 
difficTilties incident to military service. 

After being mustered out Judge Wakctield 
resumed his studies in I^ombard University and 
enjoyed an uninterrupted course of one year. 
He afterward engaged in teaching for two or 
three terms iu the country school and devoted 
his leisure hours upon the farm to reading law, 
going twice a month to the county seat to re- 
view his studies under Hon. Henry S. Greene. 
At the end of two years' study he had gained a 
proficiency in legal lore that secured his admis- 
sion to the bar and he was admitted to practice 
by the supreme court of Illinois in January, 
1868. Believing that the Avest would furnish 
broader scope for his expanding powers as a 
lawyer, Judge Wakefield started for Sioux 
City, Iowa, in February with the fixed intention 
'of making this place his home. He arrived on 
the 6tli of March and has continuously been a 
resident of this city, where he has won high 
honors in his pri)fession and has gained recogni- 
tion not only as a leading representative of the 
bar but also as a man whose loyal citizenship 
and A\drth of character have made him a valu- 
able addition iu community interests. Having 
had no ofiice experience at the time of his ar- 
rival here, he secured a desk in the ofllce of 
Judge Pendleton and devoted himself to the 
further mastery of law principles and the build- 
ing up of a practice. Like all who became 
connected with the bar, he had to demonstrate 
his ability ere winning any large number of 



clients and in IStitt, in order to help out his 
rather limited finances, he gladly accepted the 
position of auditor of Woodbury county, to 
which oifice he was elected by i)opular suf- 
frage. In 1871 he was re-elected and then 
from 1871: until 1884, inclusive, he continued 
actively in the practice of his profession with 
a constantly growing clientage of continuously 
increasing importance. During this period he 
demonstrated his ability to cope with the most 
intricate problems of the law and having won 
public confidence he was in 1884 elected cir- 
cuit judge for the second circuit of the fourth 
judicial district. In 1886 he was elected dis- 
trict judge, which office he still holds, having 
been re-elected on the expiration of each suc- 
cessive term. In his new field of labor Judge 
Wakefield displayed the same characteristics 
that had won the confidence and respect of his 
associates on the bench and at the bar, and that 
had already made him a conspicuous figure in 
the legal world — namely, solid intellectual 
ability, thorough knowledge of the law, great 
fairness, and a personal bearing that combined 
dignity and firmness with unfailing courtesy. 

On the 29th of October, 1873, Judge Wake- 
field was married to Miss Kate Pendleton, who 
died in 1880 at the age of thirty-six years, 
leaving three children, but Hiram Pendleton, 
the second child, died in 1882. The surviving 
son and daughter are Albert Orin and Bertha. 

Amid a large circle of friends Judge Wake- 
field is widely known and his personal char- 
acteristics are familiar to many of these. He 
possesses fine social qualities and the ready tact 
which enables him to place others at ease in 
his presence. When addressing an audience 
upon a momentous question his utterances ring 
with deep, sincere thought and candor and his 
ideas are presented with clearness and force. 
His reputation as an after-dinner speaker ranks 
him with the best in Iowa and, in fact, has made 
him known beyond the boundaries of this state. 
In matters of citizenship he has always dis- 
played marked loyalty and a devotion to the 



:;i4 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOUDBUPY COUNTY 



good of the liiajoritv. In fact, his life has 
ever l)een permeated by a jiatriotie spirit of that 
quiet, self-denying kind, which is working for 
the good of all in securing a better civil gov- 
ernment and which has not the plaudits of the 
crowd and the deep gratitude of the people as 
a reward for labor and self sacrifice. In the 
long run this kind works more for the good of 
the cduiitry than any dtlirr. It needs not the 
spirit iif palpable danger or the excitement and 
fervor of war's alarms to arouse it ; it is a con- 
stant force working for pul)lic righteousness 
ami it is this kind of jiatriotisni that has been 
illustrated in Judge Wakefield's career and 
that has i;iven liini his weight in i)ublic life. 



JOHN ( HAKLES KELLY. 

Ji-ihn Charles Kelly, whose business inter- 
ests, extensive and prosjierous, have also con- 
tributed to the substantial ])rogress and im- 
pi'dvemeut of the state, has since 1880 been 
connected with journalistic interests in Sioux 
City as editor of the Sioux City Tribime, and 
also as general manager of the Siotix City 
Printing Company, controlling an industry of 
considerable importance. 

]\rr. Kelly was born in Cortland, New York, 
February 2(5, 1S.5l'. His paternal grandfather 
was a business man of Ireland and his son, 
Thomas C. Kelly, born in Ireland, completed 
his edncation in the L'uiversity of Edinburg, 
Scot]an<l, after which he sjDent several years in 
travel. Two of his uncles held commissions 
in the British Army but Thomas Kelly was 
educated for the ptirsuits of civil life and came 
to the Knited States in December, 1849. He 
wedded Mary Kelly, who, although of the same 
name and a native of Ireland, was not a rel- 
ative. Her father was a farmer of Ireland 
and married a Scotch woman, Mary Graham. 
They became farming people of the state of 
New York, and after his marriage Thomas 
Kelly engaged in the same pursuit and that 



of civil engineering, but at the beginning of 
the Civil war he put aside all business inter- 
ests and personal considerations and in response 
to the president's first call for volunteers he 
tendered his services, raised a segment of a 
company and was commissioned a lieutenant. 
He had become a naturalized American citizen 
and took a deep interest in jmblic affairs, ally- 
ing himself with the Douglas wing of the Dem- 
ocratic party. 

John C. Kelly strongly desired to enter the 
army in whatever capacity possible and in 1S62 
went t(i Washington, arriving there in time to 
witness "McClellan's Grand Review,'' but his 
extreme youth thwarted his desire. 

On the 23d of May, 1873, when twenty-one 
years of age, ]Mr. Kelly removed to Iowa to 
enter the service of ^lills & Conqiany, state 
printers at that time. Mr. Kelly organized the 
first building association in Iowa, at Des 
^loines, and became the first secretary of the 
association. He alsi:i read law while living in 
Des ^Moines,' in the law otfices of Connor & 
Davis, under the direction of Judge William 
Connor, and likewise engaged in merchandis- 
ing, thus becoming identified with many lines 
of activity which contributed to the material 
development and Inisiness improvement of the 
city, biU' eventually he returned to the printing 
business and ijurchased an interest in the Daily 
State Leader, of which he became one of the 
editors. Three years later ilr. Kelly disposed 
of his interest in that paper and removed to 
Sioux City, having purchased the Sioux City 
Weekly Tribtme. In 1884 he established the 
Sioux City Daily Tribxme, of which he is the 
editor and proprietor and during the same year 
he organized the Sioux City Printing Company, 
which has grown into a large mantifacturing 
establishment, dealing in printers' supplies and 
doing an auxiliary publishing business. 

In 1893 Mr. Kelly was appointed collector 
of internal revenue by President Cleveland and 
also disbursing agent of the treasury depart- 
ment. He had alwavs been a "sound monev" 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBrHY COUNTY 



27 



iiiau — an advocate of the gold standard. He 
was a member of the first "free trade," or tariff 
reform ehdj, organized after the A\ar, and has 
for many years been a mendjer of the Iveform 
Club of Xew York and a warm advocate of 
Civil service reform. He was a delegate-at- 
hirge to the Democratic national convention of 
ISSS which nominated Cleveland and Thur- 
man and in 1892 he supported Governor Boies 
in the Democratic national convention as a 
candidate for the presidency. In 1890 he re- 
fused to support Bryan on account of the plat- 
form then adopted and was a delegate to the 
Gold-Democratic national eonvention which 
nominated Palmer and Buckner. 

While in Des ]\Ioines Mr. Kelly formed the 
acquaintance of Miss Martha A. Hill, daughter 
of Colonel S. G. Hill, of the Thirty-fifth Iowa 
Infantry, who was killed while leading a bri- 
gade at the battle of Xashville. ilr. Kelly 
and Miss Hill were married in Muscatine, 
Iowa, May 1, 1878, and unto them were born 
seven children: Eose, ]\[al)cl. .Martha, Kachel, 
John H., Eugene and Gardner. He was for 
many years president of the Humane Society 
of Sioux City and is a man who has special re- 
gard for the amenities of life, supporting all 
measures which tend to ameliorate the condi- 
tions which work hardships to his fellow men, 
whether they come throtigh social, business or 
]>olitical conditions. 



AXDKEAV HAAKINSOX. 

Andrew Haakinson, a retired farmer living 
in Sion.x City, was born in iSTorway, January 
S, IS-il, and is a son of Haakinson Amanson 
and Ellen Hanson. The father ^vas a farmer 
"f Xorway and came to the United States in 
July, 1861, locating in Winnebago county, 
Wisconsin. He died October 20, 1881, and his 
wife passed away April 11, 1882. 

In the schools of Xorway Andrew Haakinson 
]uirsued his education, liut at the age of ten 



years started mit to earn his (jwn living by 
win-king as a farm hand by the month. He 
was thus employed until twenty years of age. 
lie came to the LTnited States when his parents 
crossed the Atlantic and after locating in Win- 
nebago county, A\'isconsin, he purchased sixty 
acres of land. He had been a resident of Amer- 
ica but little more than a year when he espoused 
the cause of the Union and, enlisting in the fall 
of 1863 as a recruit, was mustcre(l in Fel)ruary 
22, 1804. He became a memlier of Company 
K, Eleventh Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteers, 
and participated in General Banks' expedition 
and also in the battles at Fort Blakely and 
Mobile ])ay. He received an honorable dis- 
charge September 4, 1865, and then returned 
to Wisconsin, ilr. Haakinson's name was 
spelled at that time Hagerson. Not long after 
this he sold his original farm, but purchased 
eighty acres of land in the same county and 
shortly afterward bought forty acres additional. 
He then carried on general farming operations 
on his tract of land of one liundrcd and twenty 
acres until ISS-l, -when he sold his Wisconsin 
pro])crty and came to Iowa. F(n' a short time 
he made his home in Sloan, l)ut in the fall of 
that year took up his al)ode in Sioux City. 
He purchased eighty acres of land which is 
now within the city limits and soon afterward 
sold this and bought twenty acres adjoining, 
while in 1893 he bought one hundred and 
twt'nty-seven acres adjoining the twenty-acre 
tract. The one hundred and twenty-seven-acre 
tract is located in what is known as the Wash- 
ington Park addition and is within the cor- 
poration limits of Sioux City. The twenty 
acres have not been platted in lots. Mr. 
Haakinson has lived retired since 1888, merely 
giving his time to the supervision of his prop- 
erty interests, -which have largely increased in 
N-alue with the growth and development of the 
city. His life has been one of untiring activ- 
ity and continued progression, and although he 
started out for himself empty-handed when a 
little lad of only ten years he has steadilv ad- 



28 



PAST AXl) PKESENT OF WOUDBUliV COUXTV 



vanced on the road to success, and in the ])c)s- 
sessiou of a liandsonie competency is now living 
a retired life. 

Mr. Haakiuson is a member of General 
Hancock Post, Xo. -I-A, G. A. R., and thus 
maintains pleasant relations with his old arniv 
comrades. In his political views he is a stanch 
Eepublican, cast his tirst presidential ballot 
for Lincoln in ISli-t and since that time has 
never failed to vote at each election and to 
support the men and measures of the Re]inb- 
lican party. 



EEV. EALPH P. SMITH. 

Rev. Ralph Parsons Smith, rector of St. 
Thomas church (Episcopal) at Sioux City, was 
born in Granville, Licking county, Oliiu. July 
10, 1S68. His paternal grandfather, Davi.l 
Smith, came from Yorkshire, England, to 
America in early life, and Charles B. Smith, 
father of Rev. E. P. Smith, was born in Xew 
York city. He became an attorney at law and 
practiced his profession until 1863, when, re- 
sponding to his country's call for aid, he en- 
listed at Springfield, Illinois, for service in the 
Union Army, becoming a member and second 
lieutenant of the Sixty-first Illinois Volunteer 
Infantry. He won promotion from time to 
time and when mustered out was serving with 
the rank of colonel. He was captured while 
serving on detail duty after the battle of Vicks- 
burg and was sent to Andersonville, where he re- 
mained until exchanged. He died in Septem- 
ber, 1874, at the age of thirty-five years. He 
adhered to the faith of the Church of England, 
to which his ancestors had belonged, and his 
wife was also a member of the Ejiiscopal 
church. She bore the maiden name of Caroline 
Parsons and was a descendant of one of the 
passengers on the Mayflower. Her father, 
Ralph Parsons, was a merchant and married 
Laura Case. There was but one child born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Ralph Parsons. Ten years 



after the death of her tirst husband Mrs. Smith 
became the wife of iJenjaniin F. Thomas, head 
[)nifcssi:ir of physics in the Ohio State Uni- 
versity, and by that union there were three 
children. 

In early biiyhood Rev. R. P. Smith attended 
a ju'ivate school in Granville, Ohio, continued 
his studies in the academy there, of which he 
is a graduate, and afterward entered Denison 
University, in which he was graduated on the 
completion of a classical course in ISSS. He 
spent a year in the engineering service of the 
Xorthern Pacific Railroad Company in Wash- 
ington and afterward became connected with 
the Associated Press, acting as correspondent in 
the house of representatives at Columbus, Ohio. 
He then turned his attention to educational 
work as assistant superintendent of a Young 
Ladies' .Vcademy at St. Joseph, Missoiiri, 
where he n-niained for two years, after which he 
taught in the il organ Park Academy, at Chi- 
cago, Illinois, for a year. At the same time 
he studii'd for the ministry in the University 
of Chicago. In that city he founded the South 
Side Academy, which he conducted for three 
years, teaching dead languages and natural sci- 
ences. At the same time he pursued post-gradu- 
ate work in the Uuivei'sity of Chicago. 

In 1894: liev. Smith Avent abroad, spending 
a year in Etirope, dtiring which time he was 
largely engaged in study in Leipsic and other 
centei's of learning. ^Vhile there he was of- 
fered an assistant professorship in German in 
the University of Illinois, at Champaign, and 
accepting this served in that capacity for three 
years. Mr. Smith was pursuing his studies 
with the intention of entering the medical pro- 
fession or the ministry, and deciding upon the 
latter he was confirmed by Bishoji Vincent in 
1807 and became a candidate for holy orders. 
He entered the Episeo2)al Theological School 
at CamViridge, Massachusetts, and was gradu- 
ateil in 1S9S. He took his canonical degrees 
at Columbus, Ohio, and was ordained to the 
priesthood in St. Paul's church, at Cincinnati, 




i!F.v. i;. V. s:\nTH. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBT'RY COUNTY 



31 



Ohio. He then acccjjted a charge at Cnmmins- 
ville, a suburb of Cincinnati, where he re- 
mained for two years and was then associate 
rector of Shattuck school, at Faribault, Min- 
nesota, for a 3'ear. lie came to Sioux City, 
January 4, 1903, and has since been rector of 
St. Thomas Episcopal church. 

Rev. Smith was married on the 28th of June, 
1901, to Miss Marguerite Thorne, who was 
born in ^^irginia in 1878, a daughter of Wil- 
liam Thorne, a farmer of the Old Dominion., 
They have t^vo children, Margaret Parsons and 
Laura Parsons. Rev. Smith is a member of the 
Masonic and of several college fraternities, and 
in his political views is an independent Re- 
publican, for while he iisually votes for the 
men and measures of the Republican party, he 
does not consider himself l)Muncl by party ties. 



ALEXANDER KERIAKEDES. 

Alexander Keriakedes has within a compar- 
atively short space of time attained a success 
that makes his caret-r partaki' oi the marvelous 
and yet his prusperity is due entirely to close 
application, unfaltering energy and capable 
management. It is thei'efore well merited and 
has gained for him the admiration and respect of 
all who know aught of his career. He was born 
in Sparta, Greece, in ISTovember, 1874, and is a 
son of John and Pauline Keriakedes, both of 
whom are yet living in S])arta. The father was 
a farmer and served in the (;re<aan army, but is 
now retired from service on a competency. In 
the family were eight children, six of whom are 
yet living, the three sons being in this country 
while the daughters are at bimie. 

Alexander Keriakedes obtained his education 
in the piiblic schools of bis native place and 
on putting aside his text liooks went to Smyrna, 
Turkey, where he worked fur bis uncle in a 
restaurant. Pie was then but thirteen years of 
age and he remained in Smyrna for three years. 
He next made his wav to Athens, the Grecian 



(■a[)ital, where he served as a messenger boy in 
line (if the patrician families for three years. 
The year 1893 witnessed his arrival in Amer- 
ica. He located in Newark, Xew Jersey, 
where he secured employment in a candy fac- 
te irv and there he learned the business, being 
enipbiyed at that place for a year and a half. 
He next went to Indianapolis, Indiana, where 
he also followed candy making, and later he 
worked at his trade in Louisville, Kentucky, 
for six months. He afterward located in Min- 
neapolis, Minnesota, where he was employed in 
the same way for a year and in 1899 he opened 
a candy store in St. Paid, Minnesota, which 
he conducted with very gratifying success for 
three years. 

In July, 1902, Mr. Keriakedes purchased the 
Des ]Moines Candy Kitchen at Sioux City, 
which he has since enlarged and supjilied with 
modern equipment. He now has the most ex- 
teusi\-e and finest retail candy establishment 
in Sioux (_'ity and also owned at one time a 
large cimfectioncry story in ^lason City, Iowa, 
but this store he has sold. At the present, 
bowexci-, he is the pro])rie1or of the Lincoln 
Candy Kitchen at Lincoln, Nebraska, and his 
business is proving a most jn'otitable one, his 
trade constantly growing. [Mr. Keriakedes was 
joined in 1898 by his brother Peter, who is 
now in his employ, and in 1903 his younger 
lu'other, Thanash, came to America and our 
subject is now sending him to school. 

He was married in 1899 to iliss Isabel Gard- 
ner, who was born in Rochester, Xew York. 
]\Ir. Keriakedes is a memlier of the Knights of 
Pythias fraternity and his wife belongs to the 
Theosoj^hical Society. Altbongb a young man 
he has gained success that iiuiny a one of twice 
his years might well em-y ami, moreover, when 
he came to the Lnited States be was handi- 
capped by his lack of knowledge of the English 
buiguage and a familiarity with the customs 
and manners of the ]ieo]ile of the new world, 
but be readily adajited himself to changed 
conditiims and tbrougli bis unfaltering energy. 



32 



PAST AND I'l.'HSHXT OF WOODBURY COFNTY 



wliifli is ihr suurcc of ]ir(i>|icrit v in all walks 
of life, 111' has raplillv woriu'il his wav uiiwanl 
to ail pin'iahle jKisitiiin in ihr ImsiiU'ss worhl. 



•lOlIX IIKKU (IIAKI.ES. 

John llerr Charles is nuiuborcd among the 
pioneer settlers of Sioux City, whei-c he has 
made his lioinc >iiic<' the Isl n{ December, 
185G, ami he has been conueeted with many im- 
portant interests leading to the substantial de- 
veloimient of this part of the state. lie T\as 
born .lannary I'.i, ISl'G, in Pennsylvania, and 
is a son of Joseph Charles, a grandson of Jolm 
Charles and a great-grandson of Henry Charles. 
In the year 1734 Heinrieh Karley, with his 
wife and his aged mother, who was blind, omi- 
grated from Zurich, Switzerland, to America. 
On his arrival he settled in Manor township. 
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he pur- 
chased a tract of land, containing one hundred 
and seventy-one acres, and for this he jiaid 
twenty-one pounds, thirteen shillings and four 
pence sterling. This farm has remained in 
possession of the family to the present day and 
is now owned and occupied by his lineal de- 
scendant. Christian 11. Charles. The family 
name in the intt'rim has been anglicized and 
by the different branches of the family is writ- 
ten as it now appears in the life history of 
our subjei't. Heinrieh Karli'v had three sons. 
Joseph, the eldest, was i)iirn wliile his pareiUs 
were on the voyage to .Vmeriea. his natal day 
being June in. 1T:>4. John, the second, was 
born July .Tl, 17;!'.i, and Jacob was born Oc- 
tober 27, 1742. Heinrieh Karley lived to be 
fifty-six years of age and died in his adopted 
land and was interred upon the old homestead 
farm where many of his descendants lie buried. 
His son John lived to be eighty-five years of 
age, while the third son. Jacob, reached the 
advanced age of ninety-seven years, nine months 
and eleven days. 

Jose]ih diaries, the elcK'St son. was the sec- 



ond in the line of direct descent to our snb- 
jecl. ^Vnnuig his children was John, who was 
born Alarch 29, 176C, and died in .MitHin town- 
ship, .Vshland county. Ohio, at the age of sev- 
enty-eight years. Josejih, the second son. emi- 
grated to Warren connty. Indiana, where his 
descendants may now be fmind. The daugh- 
ters. ]\Iartha. ALagdalene and Maria, were born 
in the t)rder here named and they emigrated 
from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, to the 
west. 

J<.>hu (_'harK's. the eldest son of Ji:>seph 
Charli's, and a grandson of Heinrieh Karley, 
was married at Lancasti'r, Pennsylvania, to 
Maria Herr, the daughter of John Herr, for 
whom the stibject of this review was named. 
Their eldest son, Joseph Charles, was liorn 
August 16, 17!H). Anna, the second child, was 
horn December 1(). 181)0, and became the wife 
of ^fartin Kagv. John was born July 13, 
18n2. 

Joseph Charles, the father of our subject, 
was married to Elizabeth Kauft'man and their 
children were John Herr. Abner E.. Anna 
^larie. Joseph B., Elizabeth Al. and Daniel K. 
(^f this number Joscjih E. died in California 
in 18!tS. 

John Herr Charles was reareil npcui his fath- 
er's farm and in 1856 arrived in Sioux City, 
Iowa, reaching his destination on the 1st of 
December of that year. For four years thei'c- 
after he was engaged in the real estate business 
and then entered the general mercantile estab- 
lishment of Milton Tootle, who is now a million- 
aire. Later he became a j^artner in this en- 
terjirisc and for forty yt^ars continued in the 
wholesale grocery business. He also extended 
his efforts to various other lines of business ac- 
ti\ity. Tn ISdO the banking firm of Means. 
Allison \- Com]iany consolidated its business 
with the banking interests of John H. Charles. 
'.\ ho. however, severed his connection with the 
house on the 6th of September, of that same 
year. He has. ueviu'theless. been identified 
with many im])ortant business concerns. To 




pi/HL^ 



PAST AND TKKSENT OF WOGDBUEY COUNTY 



35 



Sioux City belongs the honor of fitting out tiie 
first civilians' expedition to the now rich and 
famous Black Hills country and on the (ith of 
October, 1874, the Collins and Russell party 
started from Sioux City for the Black Hills. 
This party consisted of twenty-six men who 
went through the Sioux nation, braving the 
danger of Indian attacks and the hardships of 
storms and blizzards. This was a very ardu- 
ous and perilous undertaking, liut one which 
proved eminently successful. From Fort Lar- 
amie the members of the expedition were jia- 
rolcd. Sioux City sent an ambassador out to 
meet them and alsi> furnished transjiortation 
for them to come home. John Charles was 
foremost in fitting out the expedition and gave 
liberally to sustain and carry out the Black 
Hills project. He was also one of the pro- 
moters of the Sioux City & Pembina Railroad, 
now a portion of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul system. For years he was identified with 
the Steamboat Transportation Company, oper- 
ating on the Missouri river as government con- 
tractor, his connection therewith being contin- 
ued until I'.tOfl, when be retired from active 
business life. 

In 1861 Mr. Charles was married to ^[alvina 
Bryan, Avbo died in 1864 at the age of thirty- 
one years, leaving one daughter, Florence, who 
is now the wife of Fred S. ]\Iartin, of Minne- 
apolis, Minnesota. In 1868 Mr. Charles was 
again married, his second union being with 
Jennie Townsend, who is a daixghter of Joseph 
Townscnd, of Kingston, Xew York. 

Jlr. Charles has continuously made bis home 
in Sioux City since 1856 and bis mind bears 
the impress of the early historic annals of north- 
western Iowa and at the same time he has an 
intimate knowledge of its latter-day progress 
and improvement. He has been the president 
of the Sioux City Scientific Association from 
its inception and is the president and was also 
one of the promoters of the Floyd Monument 
Association. In 1876 he was elected mayor 
of Sioux City on the Repxiblican ticket. 



CllAKLKS A. DICKSON. 

('harlcs A. Dickson, an attnrncy at law of 
Sioux ( 'ily, vx'as burn in Dnwagiac, ^Michigan, 
March l'l', ISTO, and is a son of .Viislin ,M. and 
l.orainc (IJccsdn) Dickson, who were also 
natives of that state. The father was proprietor 
of a hotel and also conductcil a mercantile enter- 
|irise in that slate. His jiolitical sniijiort was 
given to the Democratic party. His wife, who 
is still living, is a member of the Fniversalist 
chureh. They were the jiarents of two sons — 
('harles A. ami Clarence I!., jn'opvietor of a 
hotel in La ( 'rnsse, Wisconsin. 

WIh'Ii seven years of age Charles A. Dickson 
accomi)anied his parents on their removal to 
iladison, Wisconsin, where he completed the 
regular course of study in the grammar and 
high schools. He then entered the Wisconsin 
State University, in which he ]ini'sneil the 
modern classical course and was gradnate(l with 
the class of 1891. He next took up the study 
of law in the sam(> institution and was gradu- 
ated in 181)3. In the fall of that year he went 
to Lincoln, Nebraska, wliere he renniined until 
the summer of IS'.U. when he came to Sioux 
City and formed a j)artiierslii]) with R. J. 
Chase under the firm name of ('base & Dick- 
son. This was dissolved in 1808 and since that 
tinu> he has practiced alone. He is a member 
of the Sioux City an<l State Bar Associations, 
and in a calling where advancement dejiends 
Ujion individual merit, close apjilication and 
careful preparation, he has won enviable suc- 
cess. He now has a distinctively representative 
clientage and has shown excellent ability in 
coping with the intricate questions which en- 
gage the attention of the courts. 

On the 30th of December, ISHT,, :Mr. Dick- 
son was married to IFiss Katberine Hardy, a 
daughter of Albert Hardy, who was superin- 
tendent of the public schools in La Crosse, Wis- 
consin. She is a native daughter of Michigan 
and has one child, Ruth. "Mrs. Dickson belongs 
to the Congregational church and like her hus- 
liand has made manv friends during their resi- 



36 



PAST AXU PRESENT OF AYOODBUKY COUNTY 



deuce ill Siunx ('ity. ^Ir. l)icksou belongs to 
the [Masonic frareniity aii<l tn the Beta Theta 
Pi. a college society. His jiolitical allegiance 
is given to the Democracv ami during the past 
three years he has taken a very active jiart in 
politics in Woodhnrv comity, serving during 
that time as Democratic coniitv chairman. 



FRAXK II. BEA:\1ER. 

Frank H. Bcamer, who has attained distinc- 
tion as a representative of photographic art and 
is sticcessftilly conducting a stndio in Sionx 
City, ■n-as born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, 
November l."i. 1873, his i^arents being Jared 
and Lydia (ilerrick) Beanier. The father was 
a native of St. Catherines, Ontario, and the 
mother was also born in that province. In their 
family were four children and like the others 
Frank II. Beanier attended the common schools 
of Ottawa, Ontario. He began the study of 
photography niidor the direction and in the 
studio of E. F. Hall, of Buffalo, Xew York, in 
1889 and there remained for five years. In 
1894 he went to Detroit, ^Michigan, whore he 
was employed by the firm of Arthur ik- Philbric, 
with Avhom he remained for two years, after 
which he s])ent a similar period with the firm of 
Haves (5c Company. In 1897 he returned to 
Rnff'alo and formed a business connection with 
\V. H. S. Oftu as superinteiidciii of liis stndio 
and while thus engaged he secured the tirst gohl 
medal at the national convention. On again 
leaving Buffalo Mr. Beamer went to Spring- 
field, [Massachusetts, where lie became manager 
and operator in the ]diotograpliic stndio of TJ. 
I. Xoble for one year and in 1898 he went to 
Albany, Xew Y'ork, as photogra^iher for the Al- 
bany Art Union. In 1899 he removed to Bos- 
ton, where he was employed by .\. ilarshall 
until August of the same year, when he reniov<>d 
to Sioux City. Here he took charge of the Gen- 
elli studio, but in April. 1900, he purchased 
the Sidney ^lontaomerv studio located at 415 



Fiiurth street. He has since been the proprietor 
and in the meantime he has enlarged the studio 
to double its original size. Mr. Beamer has a 
most comprehensive and accurate knowledge of 
the latest processes of photography, keeps in 
touch with the most improved inventions con- 
cerning ilie art and added to his mechanical 
skill has an artist's appreciation of form, color 
and pose. He has been particnlai'lv skillful as 
a iihotographer of children and his work in this 
direction has won him notable prominence and 
high encominnis. 

[Mr. Beanier is well kn<iwn in [Masonic circles, 
lielonging to T,\rian Lodge, A. F. iSc A. [M., and 
to Sioux City Chapter, [Xo. 26, E. A. M. He 
was married in June, 1895, to Miss Edith 
[\lichealis, of Buffalo, Xew Y'ork, and diiring 
their residence in Sioux City they have won 
many friends who extend to them warm-hearted 
hos]iitality. 



FRANK T. IIOUX. 



Frank T. Houx, a general contractor, who is 
also engaged in a wholesale business as a dealer 
in mantels, tiles and grates, stands as a well 
known representative of business activity in 
Sioux City. He has developed an enterprise 
of importance and his labors have resulted in 
placing him in the front rank among the lead- 
ing contractors and merchants of northwestern 
Towa. He was born in Martinsburg, Blair 
county, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1854, and 
is a son of William Edward and Susan Eliza- 
beth (Shinier) Houx. The father, a native of 
[Maryland, was a manufacturer of furniture 
and died in [Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, in 
1879. The mother still survives him and makes 
her home in Howbert, Colorado. Following the 
acquirement of his preliminary education in 
the public schools Frank T. Houx continued 
his studies in the [N'ormal College at Martins- 
burg, Pennsylvania. When fifteen years of 
age he began learning the plasterer's trade, to 




F. H. BEAMER. 



PAST A.M> IM.'ESlvM' OF W ( »( »|)]!ri;V COIXTV 



39 



wliifh lu' scrvcil ;i three ye;irs' appi'enticesliij), 
ami f<ir mie year hv was iimler instruction in 
Pliilaileljihia. Siilisequcnily lie became a jonr- 
neynian and was tlins eHipldyed nntil March 
9, 1875, when he removed to London, Ohio, 
and later worked in all the large cities of Ohio 
and Indiana. In July of the same year he 
made his way to Cliieafi'n and thence to Norway, 
Iowa, where he spent tlii-cc years. On the ex- 
piration of that period lie reliii-iied to his old 
home in Pennsylvania for a visit and in April, 
1878, he again located in Noi'way, where he 
continued to reside nntil 1880. In that year he 
removed to .Vndidion, Iowa, and in ^lareh, 
188-1, he went to \Vo(.nsockcl, South Dakota, 
where he remained until 18!)0, when he came 
to Sioux City. The following year he estab- 
lished his business as a contractor in plaster, 
brick, stone, cement and tile work and in 1898 
he began business as a gi'uefal eontractor and 
builder and dealer in all kinds of building nui- 
terials. In 1901 he further extended the field 
of his lalior by establishing a wholesale house, 
in which he carries mantels, tiling and grates. 
His business has reached extensive and profit- 
able proportions and has been developed along 
modern commercial lines. He has found that 
capability and fidelity jirove the best founda- 
tion uj)on which to build financial success and 
throughout his active business career in Sionx 
I City he has always lived faithfully up to the 
terms of his contracts, has executed his work 
in skillful manner and has therein- won the 
hmqualified confidence of the general ])ublic. 
I His patronage is now extensive and he is 
(classed among the more successful business men 

iof the city. His prominence in his special line 
of business activity is indicated by the fact that 
,for four consecutive years he has been chosen 
|to the position of j)resident of the Contractors, 
(Builders k Traders Exchange. 
|| On the ;;()th of October, 1877. Mr. Ilonx 
i|Was united in marriage to ;^^iss Kllen M. Vett, 
ija daughter of Charles O. Vett. She .lied .Tan- 
mary 17, 1S78, and in IR7'.t Mr. IIoux was 



again married, his st I union being with 

Edith B. Keene, a daughter of .bihn Keene, of 
Illinois. Their children are Ida Faye, who is 
now principal of the schools at ( 'orrect ionville, 
Iowa; and ('lareiice Kaymond, who Is a part- 
ner in the lirin of Fi-ank T. Ilonx iV ( 'oiiipany, 
of which he is president and cashier. 

-Mr. Houx is well known in fraternal circles, 
belonging to Lodge No. ill', I!. 1'. O. K. : l-iind- 
mark Lodge, No. 10;5, A. K. \- A. .M. ; Siotix 
City Chapter, Xo. 2f!, K. A. .M.; I )es .Nioines 
Consistory, Xo. .'3, S. P. R. S. : and Za Ca Zig 
Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is lik<'\vise a 
in<>iidier of the Piver-^ide I'.oat ('lull and the 
Sionx ('ity (lun ('lull — alliliations wliic-h indi- 
cate his interest in athletic sports and also indi- 
cate the method of his recreation. As a meni- 
ber of the Sioux City Commercial Club he has 
nnide a study of the Imsiness possibilities of the 
cit\- and \\n> contrilmted to its development 
along such lines, in ])o|itics he has always been 
a Repniilican. His is a well rounded char- 
acter, not so alinormally developed in any di- 
rection as to make bini a geuitts, but so well 
developed in all directions as to make him a 
citizen whose worth is recognized, a business 
man whose value is shown by his workmanship 
and his success, and a friend whoso good ojiin- 
ion and friendship are cherished by those who 
know him best. 



F. HAXSEN. 



.\niong the wholesale interests which contril)- 
!• to the commercial prosperity of Sionx City 
and tipon this business activity tlie devel- 
nient and progress of every community de- 
nds — is that which is owned and controlled 
F. Hansen, who is a dealei- in glass and 
int. He stand^ as a representative of the 
<ipted sons of America who come to the new 
ii-ld to find in its business conditions the 
portnnities which they seek for advancement 
d progress. He was born in Rchleswig, Ger- 



40 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOOLBUPY CUUXTY 



many, ou the IDtli of November, 1837. His 
parents were Carl and Louisa (Schletb) Han- 
sen. The father died in 1843 at the age of 
forty years and the wife passed away in 1872 
at the age of fifty-five years. 

F. Hansen pursued his education in the 
schools of Gennauy and there learned the drug- 
gist's trade. In 1857 he came to the United 
States, a young man of about twenty years, 
full of hope concerning the future and desirous 
of improving his condition in the new world 
with its superior b^isiness advantages and op- 
portunities. He located in St. Louis, where 
he engaged in clerking in a drug store until 
1861. Then in response to a call for troops 
he enlisted in the Third Missouri Infantry, 
which was organized by Colonel Seigel for three 
months' service. At the end of that time he 
re-enlisted, joining the Fifth Missouri Cavalry 
and served until the close of the war with the 
Fifth and the Fourth Missouri Cavalry Regi- 
ments. In Octol)er, 18G4, he was mustered 
out. 

Keturuing to St. Louis Mr. Hansen joined 
the firm of Shurtgar & Ervers, wholesale drug- 
gists, as a junior partner and continued in that 
connection until the death of the senior part- 
ner in 1870. In the spring of 1871 he came 
to Sioux City, where he purchased the stock 
of driigs owned by Captain B. F. Smith, then 
county treasurer, the store being conducted l)y 
William Gaskill. Mr. Hansen then continued 
in the wholesale and retail drug trade until 
August, 1898, when he sold his interest in the 
wholesale department to Hornick, Hess & 
]\Ioore, while tlu' retail business was sold to 
Oscar Ruff. In 1900 Mr. Hansen organized 
the Hansen Glass & Paint Company, to con- 
duct a wholesale business, and has since been 
thus associated with the commercial activity of 
Sioux City. His trade is extensive and the 
reputation of the house has secured to it a 
constantly growing patronage. It has been 
founded upon safe business lines and fair and 
honorable dealing is maintained, so that a 



growing trade was secured and the business is 
now one of the profitable enteri^rises of the city. 
In 1870 Mr. Hansen was united in marriage 
fo -Miss Willmena Kouce, a daughter of Louis 
Konce, a native of Bremen, Germany. Their 
children are: Mrs. Louise Currier, of Sioux 
City; Marie; Frederick; Minnie; and Char- 
lotfc. The children are all members of the 
l"^pisc(i]ial church and the parents attend that 
church. Almost a half century has passed 
since Mr. Hansen in early manhood came to 
America. The hope that led him to seek a 
home in the new world has been more than 
realized and he has achieved very gratifying 
success, Itut whih' nn country affords as great 
business opportunities as does the L'nited States 
it is equally true that in no country does ad- 
vancement depend more largely upon individ- 
ual merit and capability and it has been by 
reason of unfaltering purpose and untiring en- 
ergy that Mr. Hansen has risen to the enviable 
position which he now occupies in mercantile 
circles in Sioux Citv. 



THEODORE F. H. SPREXG, M. I). 
Dr. Theod(n-e F. H. Spreng, with deep love 
for his profession and bmad humanitarian 
]irinciples, has devuti'd his life to a calling 
which many regard as the most important to 
wliich man can direct his energies and in his 
jiractice in Sioux City, dating from 1889, he 
has demonstrated his right to be classed with 
tlic tnremost representatives of the medical fra- 
ternity in northwestern Iowa. He came to this 
state frDUi ^Michigan, Imt is a native son of 
Ohio, his birfli having occurred in Cleveland^- 
February I'l), lS,"i3. His father. Rev. George 
F. Spreng. was born in Germany, came to the 
Enited States when eight years of age, and for 
forty years was a circuit rider of the Evangeli- 
cal Association, while for twenty-four years of 
that time he was a presiding elder of the same 
denomination. Having retired from the min- 
istry, he is now, at the age of eighty-one years, 
s]>ending the evening of life in Dayton, Ohio, 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUEY COUXTY 



43 



in the companionship of the wife with whom 
he has so long traveled life's journey. She 
Dore the maiden name of Christinia Bentz, was 
born in Pennsylvania, and is also about eighty 
years of age. 

Dr. Spreng, in his boyhood, attended the pub- 
lie schools of Cleveland, Ohio, and afterward 
entered the K'orthwestern College at Najjer- 
ville, Illinois, but at the close of his junior year 
he left that institution and became a teacher 
in the Beaver Female Seminary. In 1875 he 
began the study of medicine and in 1876 en- 
tered Hahnemann Medical College, at Chicago, 
Illinois, where he won his degree in 187!X 
As the result of a competitive examination he 
received the appointment of hospital surgeon 
to the college hospital and filled that position 
for one year. He then entered into jiartner- 
ship with the venerable Dr. A. E. Small, who 
was then president of the college, this relation- 
shij:) continuing for three years, during which 
time he enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. 

In the fall of 1883 Dr. Spreng removed to 
Buchanan, Micliigan, where for five years he 
had a large practice extending over a large area 
in the southwestern portion of Michigan and 
into northern In<liana. By reason of exposure 
and overwork, however, his health gave way 
and lie felt compelled to confine himself to a 
city jiractice, so selecting Sioux City as a favor- 
able location, he took up his residence here in 
January, 1889, and was soon again firmly es- 
tablished in the practice of his profession which 
neither failing health nor arduous labor could 
compel him to abandon. He has ever had a 
deep interest in his chosen work from a scien- 
tific standpoint and because of a helpful, gen- 
erous spirit which promjits his best efforts in 
behalf of the sick and suffering. He is a 
mem1)er of the American Institute of Homeop- 
atliy, is a member of the Hahnemann Medical 
Society of Iowa, of which he was formerly vice- 
president, and is now president of the Sioux 
City Homeopathic Medical Society. 

Dr. Spreng was married Feln-uary 5, 1887, 



to ]\Iiss Ida M. Pears, of Buchaiian, Michigan, 
a daughter of William Pears, a prominent capi- 
talist and banker, and unto them on the 24th 
of June, 1892, was born a son, Theodore Pears 
Spreng. The doctor and his wife are mem- 
bers of the First Congregational church and he 
is a Eepiiblican in his political views. He 
possesses a social, genial nature and is also a 
man of pronoixneed literary taste, who has ever 
been a lover of good books and a broad reader, 
spending many of his most pleasant hours in 
the companionship of the best writers of the 
present and of the past. 



DON^ALD FRASER. 



For forty-eight years Donald Fraser lias 
been a resident of Iowa. Great and important 
changes have occurred since tliat time as the 
state has emerged from jiionecr conditions to 
take its place among the leading states of the 
Union. During this period he has seen its wild 
lands reclaimed for the purpose of civilization 
and transformed into very productive farms. 
He has watched the growth of towns and vil- 
lages, the introduction of railroads, the tele- 
graph and the telephone and of all other mod- 
ern improvements which indicate the onward 
march of civilization and progress. At all 
times he has lioriic his full share in the work 
of public improvement and in his business 
career has made a most enviable reputation 
for reliability and integrity. 

Mr. Fraser is a native of Invernesshire, 
Scotland, born on the 20th of October, 1831, 
a son of Duncan and Mary (Mcintosh) Fraser, 
both of whom were natives of Scotland. His 
father emigrated to the new world about 1867, 
located in Poweshiek coimty, Iowa, and spent 
the remaining days of his life there. 

The school advantages of Donald Fraser in 
early life were meager, for when he was quite 
young it became necessary that he earn his own 
living and he was apprenticed to a landscape 



PAST AM> I'lJKSKNT OF WOOliHrHY COl XTY 



gardener witli wIkhu he scrvcil fur three years. 
lie eiiiig-rated to ilie new wurld in 1851, taking 
!ihi[i at (ilasgow, and the sailing vessel on wliieh 
he was a passenger was six weeks in erossing 
the Atlanlie to Quehec, and during thir- period 
eneonnlered some severe weather. Air. i-'raser 
niaile his wn\- from C^)uehee to ilontreal and 
ihenee across the ootintry to l^ew York state. 
He afterward jirocccded westward to Illinois, 
loeating in Prineeton, where for a year and a 
half ho made his home. He continued to live 
in Bureau county for six years and was en- 
gaged in farming and in tlic operation ot a 
sawmill, devoting considerable attention to the 
manufacture of himher. In lS.')t; he went to 
Poweshiek county, Iowa, wliere he developed a 
new farm. Later he o]iened up another farm and 
njion liolh properties nnule good im|irovements. 
l"he latter was situated near Brooklyn, Iowa, 
and he continued its cultivation until the I'tMh 
of February, 1864, when he offered his services 
to the Union and joined Company E, of the 
Fourth Iowa Cavalry. The regiment went 
south, joining the department of the Alissis- 
sipju, and Mr. Fraser participated in a num- 
ber of important t'ugagenicnts, including the 
battles of Guntown, Tupelo and Oldtown Creek. 
He afterward went on the expedition iu pur- 
suit of Price in .Arkansas, Missouri and Kan- 
sas, lie took part in sixteen engagements in 
all and served until the close of the war, the 
last battle in which he participated being that 
at Columbus, Georgia. He was one of the 
escorts who took Jefferson Davis from the coast 
to the gunboat and he was honorably discharged 
at Daveuiiort, Iowa, in August, 1865. 

On the -lid of September, 1859, in Powe- 
shii'k county, Iowa, Air. Fraser had been mar- 
ried to Afiss Alartha .lane Coulsou, who was 
born in Columbiana cmnity, Ohio. btU was 
reared in Iowa. There are five living children 
of this marriage : Catherine Ann, the wife of 
Wilnier T). Adams, of Poweshiek county, by 
whom she has a son, W. D. .\dams; John S., a 
mechanic, who conducted a blacksmith shoji at 



Anthon, and has two (laughters, Etta Evalena 
and Essie .lane: Walter .\., a fanner of Powe- 
shiek county, who is married and has three chil- 
dren, Virgil Alay, Eva and (iladys; Edna V., 
the wife of .1. Henry Moore, of .\nthon : Itufus 
A., at home. They aUo lo~;t two children: .Sal- 
lie May, wlio died at the age of fourteen years, 
and llar\'ev .\., who died at the age of four 
years. 

Air. Fraser proudly cast his first presidential 
ballot in 1864, supi)orting Abraham Lincoln, 
and has ever since been a loyal adherent of the 
Republican party. In Poweshiek county he 
ser\-ed as towaiship clerk for tweh'e consecutive 
years, was assessor for fourteen successive 
years, was Fuited States census enumerator 
and ser\'ed in that capacity for several terms. 
He was a member of the school hoard for a 
number of years and has done everything in 
his power t.i promote the cause of public edu- 
cation and to secure an efticieut school system 
and competent teachers in Anthon. Fra- 
termilly he is connected with the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, having been a mendier 
of llrooklyn lodge for a third of a century, lie 
st'rved through all the chairs in the subordinate 
lodge and the encampment and for thirteen 
years was a trustee of the former. He still 
retains his memlier-<hi|i relations with the order 
at Brooklyn, that being a very strong lodge. 
Air. Fraser is one of the promoters of the 
Farmers' Instittite and through a considerable 
period sei-ved as its president. As an agricul- 
turist he was active and progressive and through 
his well directed labors achiev{>d a success that 
now enables him to live retired. 



IIO.X. JOII.X II. JACTvSOX. 

John 11. Jackson, a practitioner at the bar 
of Woodbury cotmty and a representative of 
his district in the state senate, was born in 
Albany, Green county, Wisconsin, in 1863, 
and comes of an old English family that for 
several cenerations was connected with the rrill- 




,)01L\ II. JAC'KSO.X. 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



47 



iiig business iu England. William Jackson, 
the grandfather, spent his entire life iu that 
country and was quite prominent in local po- 
litical circles. lie never came to the United 
States, but died in his native land in the .JOs. 
His son, John Jackson, was a corn luiller and 
farmer of Woodrow House, Methley, England, 
and died at the age of seventy-one years. He 
commenced business as a miller at Ackworth 
near Pontefract, in 1858, and removed to Fleet 
mills at Oulton in 1804, there remaining until 
1806. In 1881 he began farming at Methley 
and was also actively interested in local affairs, 
many of his efforts proving of marked benefit 
to his eonnnuuity. He was instrumental in 
securing a wafer sujiply at Oulton-Cum- 
Woodlesford, and he was a member of the Hun- 
let board of guardians and of the school boai'd. 
Joseph Jackson, the father of our subject, was 
born in Pontefract, England, and came to 
America about 1858. He, too, was a miller 
by trade and he now lives in Monticello, Wis- 
consin, at the age of seventy-two years. His 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Olive Ellis, 
was also a native of England and with her 
parents went to Wisconsin about 1840. She 
died in 1876 at the age of forty-eight years, 
leaving three children : John H. ; Ida, the 
wife of Bert Ludington, of Janesvillc, Wiscon- 
sin ; and Fred B., who is living in Belleville, 
Wisconsin. 

John H. Jackson, of this review, was for six- 
teen years a resident of Belleville, Wisconsin. 
After completing his preliminary education in 
the public schools he attended Kipon College, 
at Eipon, Wisconsin, for some time and subse- 
quently he removed to Jefferson, Iowa, where 
he took up the study of law under the direc- 
tion of Hon. Z. A. Church. At the end of his 
first year in Jefferson he was appointed deputy 
clerk of the courts of Greene county. He after- 
ward pursued liis law studies in the University 
of Iowa and was graduated in 1888. He then 
returned to Greene county and completed his 
service as deputy clerk. For a year he ])rae- 



ticed alone in Scranton, Iowa, and then came 
to Sioux City in 1890. Here he was associ- 
ated in practice with William Milchrist until 
January, 1895, after which he practiced alone 
until November, 1896. He was then with J. 
L. Kennedy until 1899 and has since been 
alone in the jirosecution of his profession. As 
a lawyer he has gained a foremost place at the 
Woodbury coimty bar, a distinctively repre- 
sentative clientage being accorded him in rec- 
ognition cif his ability to successfully handle 
important litigated interests. 

Mr. Jackson has also been prominently con- 
nected with political affairs in Woodbury coun- 
ty almost continuously since his arrival in Sioux 
(ity. He was secretary of the county central 
eiinimittee in 1898 and as chairman has man- 
aged the last two city and county Republican 
campaigns, winning notable successes for his 
l)arty. In 1903 he was udiniiited on the Re- 
])ublican ticket for state senator from Wood- 
linrv County and was elected in November. Al- 
tliiiugli the contest was a close one the outcome 
sli(iwe(l a victory well won. Mr. Jackson has 
been chairman of the Republican forces of 
Woodbury county for three terms and his elec- 
tion to the highest office within the gift of the 
people of his district is due to his excellent 
political service and recognized loyalty in citi- 
zenship. 

^Iv. Jackson is a meniber of Tyrian Lodge, A. 
F. (i: A. M. : Columbia Conmiandery, Xo. 18, 
K. T. ; and the Benevolent Protective Order of 
Elks. He also holds membership relations 
with the Hawkeye Club and the Riverside Boat 
Club. He takes an active interest in various 
enterprises for the city's welfare and has ever 
upheld the best interests of the county. He is 
a man firm in his opinions, resolute in his ad- 
\-<)caey of what he believes to be right and 
tlirough a straightforward and honorable busi- 
ness and political career in which there has 
been no element that will not stand investiga- 
tion and scrutiny lie has gained the confidence 
and regard of his fellow men. 



48 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOUDBUliY COUNTY 



MILES C. DAVIS. 

Miles C. Davis, who has contributed to the 
pioneer industrial development and is now a 
factor in financial circles in Siotix City, was 
born in Pittsford, Vermont, January 11), 1835, 
his parents being Ilirani and Anna (Hnbbell) 
Davis. The family was fotinded in Vermont 
at an early epoch in the history of the new 
world and the Ilubbell family was represented 
in Connecticut at an early day. The father 
died at the age of forty-two years, lea\-ing 
three sons, Albert F., ]\iiles C. and Edgar, the 
second named then but seven years of age. The 
mother soon afterward married and removed 
to Rtitland, Vermont. 

Miles C. Davis started out in life on his 
o\\ni account when but seventeen years of age. 
His educational privileges were limited, but 
he iwssessed strong determination, enterprise 
and energy. He was first employed on a farm 
near Rutland, Vermont, for two years, teach- 
ing a district school in the winter of 18.53, and 
then learned the miller's trade with John Ste- 
vens of Pittsford, with wlmm he worked for 
three years. In 1857 he removed to Troy, IN^ew 
York, where he was employed at the milling- 
business for three months, at the end of which 
time the plant was closed and he was thus 
forced to seek another position. Accordingly 
he went to Xew York, thence to Xorfolk, Vir- 
ginia, afterward to Pichmond, Virginia, on to 
Indiana, and subsequently returned to the 
Green Mountain state, but all this time found 
no employment in the line of his trade so he 
directed his energies into otlii^r fit'lils of activ- 
ity. He worked at the carjienter's trade with 
his brother, Albert F. Davis, for one season 
and together they transformed a tract of tim- 
ber land into lumber and wood. In tlie mean- 
time they established a brick yard and turned 
their attention to brick making, and in tiie 
winter seasons cut their wood and timber. The 
business relation between them continued until 
1861, when they dissolved partnership. The 
following vear ]\lr. Davis ensrased in lirid"e 



building in ^'ermont and vicinity. In March, 
1862, he began working for the government in 
\'irginia. On the 5th of December, 1803, 
he left that stati' and arrived at l^ashville, Ten- 
nessee, December 10, at nine o'clock at night. 
In two hotirs time he was on the road with 
men to build bridges over Rutherford and Car- 
ter creeks, on the Decatur k Alabama Railroad. 
On the 3rd of February, 186-t, he was taken ill 
with typhoid ])neumonia in Nashville. While 
there the construction corps with which he was 
connected was ordered to Chattanooga, where 
he joined them April 15th. On the 27th of 
^lav the railroad bridge over Lookout creek 
was broken ilown and he was ordered to rebuild 
it the quickest way possible, as it was the only 
feeder for Sherman's army on the way to the 
sea. Mr. Davis burned out the wreck and 
commenced work at once and in one hitndred 
and thirty-one hours the new structure was 
completed, he working one hundred and eleven 
hours of that time. In August, 1864, Mr. 
Davis was ordered to the Memphis & Chaides- 
ton and the Decatur & Alabama Railroads to 
build bridges, and while at Elk Creek he siis- 
laincil a fall of forty-four feet, after which he 
was cared for in the home of a physician at 
Westmoreland, returning thence to Chatta- 
nooga in September. In October, being in poor 
hcaltli. he took a trip north through Indiana, 
Illinois and Michigan, returning in Xovember. 
In A]iril, 1865, he was ordered to London, Ten- 
nessee, to take charge of a sawmill cutting lum- 
ber for bridges and other work, and continued 
to ojicratc it until the war ended and after- 
ward had charge of the property until it was 
sold. Ill- remained at Chattanooga for two 
years after the close of the war. engaging in 
grain traftic on the river. There during the 
big flood of 1866 the Louisville warehouse was 
destroyed as were the business prospects of Mr. 
Davis. 

In 18(17 he returned to his old home in Ver- 
mont, where he continued fi)r a year and a half 
and in ISd!) be came to Sioux Citv, Iowa, arriv- 



■ •enimeut u 

,nr,-mber, 18<'.:'. 

;.t Nashville, Ten 

o'clock at uigli'. 

Ill the road Avitli 

ird and Car 

na liailroaii 
. he was taken i^ 
\';,-l,villc. Whilf 

'lieh he wa- 



rdered to rehnilii 

\as the oiil; 

way to till' 

• i.iut.l oiii Liie wreck an<i 

ii once and in one hundred 

ii-s the now structure wa^ 

king one hundred and eleven 

tliat time. In August; 1864, Mr. 

■^-1 1 ■■■ 'I... M — .Mc & Charles- 

lailroads t.. 

!k '1 reek he su^ 

after which he 



until the 



lurning in November. 

'i I. .1 :■■ London, Ten- 

iitting lum- 



<^haUauooira for two 



PAST AND PIfESENT OF WoODRUin' COUNTY 



51 



ing in the mouth of August. He not only made 
a ])rospecting tour in this part of the state, hut 
also visited Mankato, Minnesota, St. Cloud, iho 
Red River country and other jjortious of ]\Iiniie- 
sota and in that state he located two thousand 
acres of land at one dollar and a quarter per 
acre. In December, IS 70, he took up his abode 
in Sioxix City, where he engaged in the grain 
business as one of the pioneer millers. In this 
line he first represented the tirm nf IT. 1 '. Bogue 
\- Company and the following spi'ing became 
a member of a company that built tbi' first ele- 
vator, tliis being erected in 1870, while the fol- 
lowing year a mill was built. At this time the 
firm of H. D. Bogue & Company was composed 
of H. D. Bogue, M. C. Davis and ilessrs. San- 
born and Follett. In 1875 Messrs. Davis, San- 
born and Follett purchased Mr. Bogue's interest 
and he continued in business until 1897 with 
his other partners, when he became sole jiroprie- 
tor. In 1900, however, he leased his mill and 
has since given his attention to other business 
afFairs, largely dealing in real estate. During 
the early days of his connection with the grain 
trade and the milling business scores of ox-teams 
stood in waiting for a considerable distance 
near the mill. He has handled grain from Iowa, 
South Dakota, Nebraska and other remote 
points, many of the ox-teams coming from 
Yankton and Sioux Falls, and other long dis- 
tances, liaulini;' the grain wliieb was to be con- 
verted into flour and then return to the homes 
upon the frontier. ]Mr. Davis is now also a 
factor in financial circles in Sioux City, was 
one <if the organizers and has been the vice 
president of the Security Xational Bank and 
has also been the vice president of the National 
Bank. 

On the fith of December, 1SG9, occurred the 
marriage of j\Ir. Davis and Miss Hattie A. Pen- 
field, a daughter of Charles and Irene ( Dike) 
Penfield. Her death occurred April 8. 1897, 
when she was fifty-one years of age. The only 
child of this marriage is Charles P. Davis, of 
Sioux City. Mr. Davis of this review is a mem- 



ber of the Congregational cliureh and has ever 
been deeply interested in all lines of ju'ogress 
here. He had tb.e jireseience to discern what the 
future had in store for this great and growing 
section of the country, wisely allied his inter- 
ests with the business affairs in Sioux City and 
while promoting the welfare and progress here 
he has at the same time profited by the develop- 
ment of this section of the coiintry and has 
found in its business advantages the opportuni- 
ties which he sought and which have enabled 
him to become one of the substantial men of 
Woodbury county. Throughout all his exten- 
sive and important business dealings he has 
umintaiiied an unassailable reputation and well 
deserves mention among the repi'esentative and 
honored citizens of northwestern Iowa. 



ERXEST C. LOG AX. 

Among the more successful and capable mem- 
bers of tlie Woodl)ury county bar is numbered 
Krnest C. Logan, of ( 'orrectionville, who during 
the past seven years has made his home in that 
town, while his residence in Iowa dates from 
1S80, in which year he settled in [Montgoni- 
ery county. He 'was born in the town of Mo- 
mence, Kankakee county, Illinois, December 1, 
1808. His father, E. J. Logan, was born in 
Laj)orte county, Indiana, where he was reared 
to manhood and married, the lady of his choice 
being Julia LeClear, also a native of that state. 
The father carried on agricultural jiursuits in 
Indiana and about IStiO he rcmo\-e(l to Illinois, 
locating in Kankakee county, where he o]ien(>d 
a farm, upini wliii-h he made his home until 
1880. In that year he became a resident of 
^lontgomery county, Iowa, where he again se- 
cured a tract of land that he develojied into a 
rich and pr<:iductive farm. Subseqiiently he 
established his home in Harrison county, Iowa, 
where he is now living retired. 

Ernest C. Logan was largely reared in Mont- 
gomery county, Iowa, being a lad of twelve 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



years at the time of liis parents' removal there. 
His early commou-school education was supple- 
mented by a collegiate course in the Western 
Xormal College and in Highland Park College. 
His course, however, was not consecutive, for 
ere he had comjjleted his collegiate work he en- 
gaged in teaching school for three years, thus 
acquiring the funds necessary for the continu- 
ance of his own education. Later he engaged 
in reading law and was admitted to the bar at 
Dcs Mdines, Towa, in ISiH. For a short time 
thereafter he was cmiilnyed in a wholesale house 
of that city, but in ISlMj located in Corree- 
tionville and (ijx'iied a law otiice, entering upon 
tlie practice of bis chosen |)r(ifession. He has 
since built uj) a good law business and practices 
in different courts of the state. He was well 
equipped for his chosen calling by thorough 
study and his devotion to the interests of his 
clients is one of the strong characteristics of 
his professional career. In addition to his law 
practice he is also engaged in the real estate 
business, largely handling Woodbury county 
lands and tOAvn property, but also to some ex- 
tent handling western lands. He has been very 
successful in this department of his business 
as well as in his law practice and he has bought 
and improved several residence properties in 
Cori'ectionville. 

On the 2.")th of -Tuly, ISHii, in Sioux City, 
Mr. Logan was joined in wcillnck to Miss Eva 
E. Beck, a native of that city and a daughter of 
John Beck, a prominent contractor and one of 
the first settlers of Sioitx City. ~Mr. and ^hs. 
Logan n<iw ha\'(' a litllo daughter, .Tiilia Irene. 
Socially he is ciniiiecteil with the Independent 
Order n{ Odd l'\.ll(,ws, and vrith the Knights 
of Pythias fraternity. His political allegiance 
is given to the Republican party and he takes 
an active and lielpfnl interest in its work, hav- 
ing serveil as a delegate to county and state 
conventions, yet ne\-ei' aspii'ing to office. He 
is well known llironglionf Woodbnry conntv as 
a num of h'gal aliility ami of upright charac- 
ter and wortli, ami be and liis wife are held in 



very high esteem in the conuunnity where they 
reside. 



HARPY V. CASSADAY, M. D. 

Dr. Harry V. Cassaday, deceased, who in the 
practice of his profession in Mount Pleasant, 
Utah, became i^roniinent and well-to-do, was a 
native son of Iowa, his birth having occurred in 
Clinton, on the (jth of Sei:iteiuber, 1869. His 
parents were L. V. and Augusta (Pearce) Cass- 
aday, both of whom reside in Kansas City, Mis- 
souri. The father was engaged in speculating 
for many years, but is now living retired, hav- 
ing accumulated a handsome competence Avliich 
enables him to put aside further busines cai'es. 

Dr. Cassaday jrarsued his early education in 
the schools of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and after- 
ward went to Baltimore, Maryland, where he 
entered upon a course of medicine, attending 
the College of Physicians & Surgeons there. He 
w-as graduated with the class of 1893 and re- 
ceived his certificate to practice. Soon after- 
ward he settled at Gypsum, Kansas, where he 
remained in practice for one year and then went 
to Ephraim, Ft ah, where he resided until he 
took up his abode in Mount Pleasant, Utah. He 
was quite successful in the pi-osecution of his 
professional duties and gained a large practice, 
wliicli brought to him a good financial return 
an<l enabled him to leave his widow in comfort- 
able circumstances. He was always a close 
student of the ]"irofossion, keeping in touch with 
tli(^ ailvanced tlionght of the day and in his 
])ractice using the methods which had jn'oven 
of ihe utmost valne in the alleviation of Imnian 
suffering. 

Dr. Cassaday was married in Sioux City to 
]\riss T)a\ida Lacy, a native of Pella, Iowa, ami 
a danghter of Robert II. and Frances (Martin) 
Lacy, who are residents of Sioux City, her fath- 
er lieing a ])rominent luisiness man here, en- 
gaged in the tire insui-ance business with office 
"AC> Tov Block. Two children were born unto 




Bll. H. Y. CASSADAY. 



PAST AND PRESENT UF WOODBURY COUNTY 



55 



Dr. and .Mrs. Cassaday : Frances, who was born 
May 15. 189G; and Vail, born April 19, 1899. 
Dr. Cassaday built iijj a large practice both 
in Ephraim and in !Mount Pleasant, Utah, lo- 
cating there at the time when that portion of the 
country was enjoying a very rapid develoj)ment. 
It was on account of his hard work and many 
night calls that his health was undermined, 
thus ])ringing on an illness which termin- 
ated his life at !Mount Pleasant, Utah, on the 
10th of April, 1900. In politics he was inde- 
pendent, supporting the men and measures 
rather than party. Socially he was connected 
with the Masonic fraternity and with the ^lod- 
ern Woodmen of America, taking deep interest 
in these societies, being the founder of both 
linlges at !Mount Pleasant. He had many traits 
of character aside frum his professional skill 
and ability which endeared him to those with 
whom^ he came in contact. After her husband's 
death Mrs. Cassaday sold the property at Mount 
Pleasant and returnecl to her old home in Sioux 
City, where her parents reside. Here she pur- 
chased her present residence in the suburb of 
Morningside, at J^o. 1416 Fifth avcniie, where 
she is now living with her two children. She 
has recently accepted a j^osition to teach in 
the Longfellow school at [Moniingside. The 
work has always been congenial to her and un- 
doubtedly she will prove a valuable aildition 
to educational circles <if Sinux ( 'ify. She is 
a member of the First ^lefhodist Episcujial 
church here. 



CHPJSTIAX X. JEPSOX^ 

('hristian X. Jcpson, lawyer, <>rati>r and pro- 
fessor, is well known in northwestern Iowa in 
those circles wherein are demanded keen in- 
tellectualitv and well directed activity in 
meeting the duties of the business world and 
citizenship and the obligations of home and 
social life. His professional connection is that 
of a member of the well knoA^-n law firm of 



Jejison (S: Jcpson, of Sioux City, and he is also 
occupying the chair of medical jurisprudence 
in the Sioux City College of Medicine and 
also the same in tiie law department of the 
State University of South Dak<ita, at Ver- 
milion. 

^Ir. Jepson was born in Wayne county, Iowa, 
near Seymour, July i!6, 1ST2, his parents being 
X'eils and Wilhelmina (Jansen) Jej)Son. The 
father was a millwright in his native country 
and he came from Denmark to the United 
States in the '50s, but later returned to his 
native country. When he came the second time 
t(i the new world he located in Wayne county, 
fiiwa, where he engaged in farming, and previ- 
ous to that time he had carried on banking. He 
continued to make his home in Wayne county 
until his death, which occurred October 3, 
187-'!. In Burlington, Iowa, he had married 
Wilhelmina Jansen, who still survives him, 
making her home in Sioux City. In their fam- 
ily were three sons: William, who is a ])liysi- 
cian of Sioux City: and (Jeorge and Chris- 
tian, Avho are associated in ihe practice of law 
here. 

Christian X. Jepson attended successively 
the country schools and the high school of Sey- 
mour, fowa ; then piirsued a two years' course 
in the Uni\'<'rsity of the Xorthwest, now the 
,Moruingside ('ollege, and entered upon the 
study of law in the State University of Iowa, 
in which he was graduated with the class of 
1894. He then opened an office for the prac- 
tice of his profession in Danbiiry, Iowa, where 
he continued for four years, his brother George 
being the senior member of the firm of Jepson 
iSl- Jepson. In 1898 Christian Jepson removed 
to Sioux ( 'ity, where he joineil his lirother and 
has since continued at the county seat in the 
successful practice of his chosen profession. 
They make a s]iecialty of jiroliate jiractice and 
of real-estate law, but al^o do a general law 
business. 

Mr. Jejison was married in Octolier, 189G, 
to Miss Alice Loucks, a dauohrer of P. H. 



'AST AM) PRESENT OF WOODBUllY COUNTY 



Loucks, uf IJanhury, Iowa. The eliililreu oi 
this marriage are Hellene Lucile, ilarjorie, 
Alice and John Kiohard Xeil Jepson. In his 
fraternal rchiiiiins iir. .Tc[)son is a Knight of 
Pythias and since IS'.m; has been a member of 
the Masonic society. lie has attained the fonr- 
tcenth degree of the Scottish rite and is a mem- 
ber of Tabernacle Lodge of Perfection, at Des 
Moines, Iowa. He is also an Elk. He is now 
serving as a member of the Iowa house of repre- 
sentatives from Woodbury eonnty. He is one 
of the notable pnblic speakers of the state and 
is frequently called npon to deliver commence- 
ment addresses, to speak before lodges and to 
address pnblic gatherings upon momentons 
public questions. He has the faculty of pre- 
senting his subject in a most happy manner, of 
inspiring his auditors with his own enthusiasm 
and in presenting his thoughts in a forcible 
manner that never fails to leave a lasting im- 
]iression. 



GEOKGE JEPSO^T. 



George Jepson, the senior meml]er of the law 
firm of Jepson A: Je])son, whose ability has 
formed a strong foundation npon which has 
been builded the enviable reputation of the 
firm, was Ixirn near Aarkus, Denmark, Decem- 
ber ;'., 18<i-t, and in his early Ijoyhood was 
brought to America liy his parents. His edu- 
cational facilities in youtli were those afforded 
liy the pulilic schools system of Seymour, Iowa, 
and when he had coraiileted the high-school 
course there he matriculated in the Fnivcrsify 
of Iowa, in which he prepared for the bar and 
was graduated with the law class of 1887. He 
began practice in Sioux ( ity on the 6th of 
July, of tliat year, and has since remained here, 
enjoying a large and desirable clientage. He 
has also been somewhat active in politics as a 
supporter of the Democracy. 

In 1875 George Jepson was married to Miss 
Ivosina L. ^larsh, a daughter of James H. 



^larsh, of Seymour, Io-\va, and their children 
are : AVilhelm, Archie O., George F., Edna B., 
Endin McLean, ^laria X. and Gladys L., the 
eldest child, however, died May 27, 1895, at 
the age of nine years. For fifteen years Mr. 
Jepson has been a member of the Knights of 
Pythias fraternity and attends the grand lodge 
of the order, and has thus, as well as through 
his professional interests, a wide acquaintance 
in the state. 



THOMAS C. PRESCOTT. 

Thomas C. Prescott, who is filling the ])0si- 
tion of city treasurer and is also engaged in 
real estate operations in Sioux City, was born 
in Strafford county, Xew Hampshire, Xoveni- 
ber 16, 1837, his parents being True and Susan 
P. (Chick) Prescott. The father was a native 
of Xew Hampshire and spent the greater part 
of his life in agricultural pursuits in the Gran- 
ite state. He died in ]\Iarch, 1901, at the ad- 
\-ance(l age of eighty-fotir years. In the nui- 
ternal line ^Cr. Prescott is descended from an 
olil family of !Maine. In his early boyhood 
days he attended the common schools and after- 
ward pursued his studies in Strafford Academy, 
in the Pittsfield Academy and in llie Xew Lon- 
don Institute, successively. In the spring of 
1S,")7 he went to Princeton, "Wisconsin, where 
he engaged in teaching school imtil the fall ot 
1860. He then returned to Xew Hampshire 
and in the following spring enlisted for service 
in the I^ninn Army. 

^Ir. Prescott became a member of Company 
(t of the Eighth Xew Hampshire Infantry and 
was nmde sergeant. In Xoveniber, 1862, he 
was appointed sergeant major and in Ajiril, 
1863, was promoted to the rank of second lieu- 
tenant, his commission bearing date from the 
l;5fh of A]iril. He was with his company at 
the siege of Vavt Hudson and in the second 
assaiih npiin the works there on the 14tli of 
June, lS(i:!. He was severelv woundeil about 




-.gayl-fc^ 



/ 






'^/A^^i 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



59 



the left sliOTilder and breast by a musket ball 
while gallantly leading his company in a charge. 
Lieutenant Prescott was in command by reason 
of the illness of the captain and becavise of a 
wound sustained by the tirst lieutenant in that 
charge. After Lieutenant Prescott was woitnd- 
ed he was sent to St. James' Hospital at Xew 
Orleans, where he was retained for eighty days 
and was unable to perform any act of duty un- 
til the following j^ovembcr. Even at that time 
he had no use of his left arm, but having been 
assigned to the position of acting adjutant he 
was enabled to perform acceptable service 
without the use of his arm. On the 16th of 
December, 1S()3, he was promoted to the posi- 
tion of first lii'utenant of his company and on 
the 1st of April, 1861, was made adjutant of 
the regiment, lie was constantly with his regi- 
ment during the very severe, fatiguing and un- 
fortunate camjiaign known as the Red River ex- 
pedition and several times very narrowly 
escaped being wounded or killed. At one time 
a bullet pierced his coat and another struck 
the scabbard of his sabre near the hilt, while 
on the third occasion his horse was shot from 
under him. On the 25 th of May, 1861, he was 
promoted to the raidv of captain of Company 
H and later was jilaeed on staff duty as acting 
assistant adjutant general of the post at 
Xatehez, Mississijjpi, which jiosition he filled 
until January 10th, 1865, when he returned 
M'ith his regiment to New Hampshire, and on 
the 17th of January, 1865, he was mustered out 
of service. He participated in the battle of 
Camp Bisland, Louisiana, both engagements of 
Port Hudson, Sabine Crossroads, Y'ellow Bayou 
and Moranville, Louisiana, beside numerous 
skirmishes during the siege of Port Hudson 
and the campaign in western Louisiana. He 
was actively engaged nearly every day from the 
1st of April until the 20th of May during the 
Red River campaign, his regiment serving as 
cavalry. At the second assault at Port Hudson 
all the memliers of his company except six who 
went into the fiiiht were cither killed or M'ound- 



ed, ( 'ai^tain Prescott, then holding the rank of 
lieutenant, being one of the latter. .\t the closi; 
of the war he was nnistered out and honorably 
discharged. He had earned an enviable i-eputa- 
tion by skill and bravery and returned to his 
home with a most creditable military record. 

In 1865 Captain Prescott renii>\-ed with the 
family to Durant, Cedar county, Idwa, where 
he engaged in merchandising, lollowing tliat 
pursuit for ten years. He was also elected clerk 
i)f the courts for two terms on the Reimblican 
ticket and while filling that position maintained 
his residence in Tipton. He then re-entered 
mercantile life and continued in business until 
December, 1885, when he removed to Sioux 
City. Here he became a real estate dealer and 
has since continued his operations in land and 
iini)roved iirojierty with the excejition of a 
period of five yeai''^, in which lie sei'ved as 
deputy county clerk of Wooilbiiry county. In 
]\[arch, 1002, he was elected treasurer of Sioux 
City and is now filling that office. During the 
years from 1877 until 1885 he was interested 
in the State Bank at Tipton, Iowa, holding the 
positions of vice-president, cashier and director 
during that period. 

On the 27th of October, 1865, Captain Pres- 
cott was united in marriage to ^liss Jennie 
Washbon, a daughter of H. X. and Mary A. 
( Tobey) Washbon. The children of this mar- 
riage are Bertha C. and Lee Washbon. The 
daughter, who was born October 4, 1877, pur- 
sued a course of study in the Iowa State Uni- 
versity and successfully engaged in teaching in 
the public schools in Sioux City. She was mar- 
ried April 14, 1004, to Constant Robert Marks, 
who is a son of Hon. Constant R. ^larks and is 
now holding a responsible position with the 
Penobscot Mining Company at Maitland, South 
Dakota. Lee W. Prescott, born August 4, 1881, 
will gradiiate in the medical department of the 
T'niversity of Iowa with the class of 1005. 

Captain Prescott is a member of the various 
^lasonic Iwdies of the York rite, having taken 
the Royal Arch anil Knights Templar degrees. 



60 



PAST AND TKESKXT Ol" WOODIU'HY CorXTY 



He is also coiinectcd with the Iowa Legion of 
Honor and has been one of the grand trnstees 
for the i)ast twelve veai's. lU- takes a deep in- 
terest in edueational matters, has ahnost eon- 
rinnonsly scr\-ed on tlie hoanl of t'<lneation sinc-e 
eoniing to Iowa, and is now a nieniher of th(^ 
school board of Sionx City, liaving acted in 
that capacity for six years, while for two years 
he has been president, lie has ever been found 
reliable in business, honorable and straightfor- 
ward ill ofHce, true to the relations of home and 
friendsiii]) in private life and in all matters 
of citizenship he is to-day as loyal to his conn- 
try and her welfare as he was when he followed 
the old flag on the battle-fields of the south. 



SAilUEL .TABLES QUIXCY. 

Samuel .lames (^)nincy. a distinguished law- 
yer of Woodbury county, lias been one of the 
most forct'ful factors in couimiiuity affairs in 
Sioux ('ity in reeeiil years. He entered ttjion 
the active duties of life unaided by influential 
frieiuls or ad\entitious circumstances and has 
been the soK/ architect of his own fortunes, 
molding his own ciiaractei' and shaping his own 
destiny. He has come to be a man of alfairs, 
yet his labors have not been restricted to the 
advancement of his own jiersonal interests. He 
iuis exlcndecl his etl'oris to various fields in 
which he has cininipioned the highest interests 
of the people most successfully. 

Air. Quiucy was born in Otsego county, Xew 
York, February 18, 1S54-, and is of Xorman 
French ancestry. His parents were Ixobert and 
Elizabeth (Kilsby) (^uincy, both of whom 
were natives of England, wiiere their childhood 
days were passctl and they w(>re married. 
About 1854, wiien forty years of age, IJoliert 
Quincy brought his family to America, and 
three weeks later the birth of our subject oc- 
ctirred. The father was a farinin- by occupation 
and thus provided for the stipport of his wife 
and children. His political su])]>rivt was given 



the Iicjinlilii'an parly from the time of its or- 
ganization, liis ballot being cast for Fremont 
in 1S.">(!. ^Vllile in England he was a meniber 
of the Episco])al church, luit in tliis country 
united wiili I he Methodist Episcopal denomina- 
tinii. lb' died in 1865 and is still survived by 
his wife, who is living in Boston at the age 
of se\-enty-eight years. She, too, is a member 
of tile Metbodisl ' Episcopal church. In ihidr 
family were eight children, of whom hve are 
living: George Alarlow, a farmer of New 
York: AVilHam J., pastor of the First Baptist 
ehureli of Troy, Xew York; Samuel James; 
Mary Elizabeth, of Boston: and Robert E., a 
minister of the liaplist church in Oregon. 

In his early boyhood Samttel J. Quincy be- 
came a pu]iil in the public schools and attcndt'd 
(iilbertsville Academy until twelve years of 
age, but be embraced every opj)ortttnity for 
mental de\-el<ipment and lietwcen the ages of 
seventeen and twenty-two years he engaged in 
teaching in Xew Y'ork, most of the time as 
principal of the schools at Alount Vision, that 
state. His desire to become a member of the 
bar led him to enter the office of Belknap >t 
Edsoii, attorneys at law of TJnadilla, Xcav Y'ork, 
will! directed his study for five years, as re- 
qnireil by the laws of the Empire state. He 
was then admitted to the bar at Saratoga 
Springs, Xew York, in 1881. 

Almost immediately afterward ]\lr. Quincy 
sought the west as a more advantageous field 
of labor and located iu Sioux City, where he 
has since remained. While he was well 
groumled in the i)rincii)les of common law when 
adniitied to tlie bar he has continued through- 
out the whole of his professional career a dili- 
gent student of those elementary principles that 
constitute the basis of all legal science. In 
his practice he has made a specialty of nmnici- 
])al law and he is the author of a number of 
laws now in foi-ce in the state of Iowa relating 
to municipal aifairs. He also prepared the 
majority of the city ordinances now in force 
here. He jiublished the first compilation of 




S. J. QUINCY. 



PAST AXD PEESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



63 



Sioux City ordinances in 18S2, and tlie sec- 
oud in ISSS. For the past seven year* he has 
been associated with C. ^[. Swan in the prac- 
tice of his profession. In addition to his prac- 
tice he has engaged to a considerable extent in 
real estate speculation and was particnlarly suc- 
cessful in his operations during the boom of 
1SST. 

In his political views ^Ir. Quincy is a Dem- 
ocrat and has taken ipiite an active interest in 
the Work of the party during his residence in 
the west. He was at one time chairman of 
the county Democratic executive committee and 
secretary of the Democratic congressional com- 
mittee for his district, and his influence has 
been felt in the ranks of his party in this 
state. He was appointed city solicitor to fill 
a vacancy and at the next regular election was 
chosen by jKipular vote for the office, which he 
filled imtil 1800. Socially he is connected with 
the Elks. His jiersonal traits of character are 
such as have made him poptilar and have also 
rendered him a natural leader of public opin- 
ion. In his pi'ofesson he has manifested the 
ability and comprehensive knowledge of the 
principles of jurisprudence that have gained 
liim an important clientage, while in public 
affairs he has displayed an interest that has re- 
sulted to the benefit of the city and the pro- 
motion of its welfare. 



DAXIEL JOX^ES. 



Daniel Jones, who follows general farming 
on section -i. Rock township, his place of one 
hundred and sixty acres l)eing ])leasantly locat- 
ed within two and a half miles of Correction- 
ville, was born in ^'ales, June 18, 1853. His 
paternal grandfather, Lewis Jones, was also a 
native of that country, as was Daniel Jones 
Sr., the father of our subject. Daniel Jones 
Sr. was reared to manhood in Wales and was 
married there on the 22d of February, 1834, 
to !Miss Marv Jenkins, a native of the same 



country and a daughter of William Jenkins, 
who was liorn in the southern part of Wales. 
Daniel Jones was a miner and resided in Wales 
until after the birth of all of his six children, 
five of whom are still living. In 185G, how- 
ever, he crossed the Atlantic to the United 
States and made his way westward to Iowa 
f'ity. It was his intention to go to Salt Lake 
City, Utah, but at Iowa City he turned back 
and establishetl a home in Rock Island county, 
Illinois, where he resided until ISCil. There 
lie carried on farming, which was his first ex- 
perience as an agriculturist. Having pur- 
chased a tract of land he continued its culti- 
vation and improvement until 1885, when he 
rented his farm and came to Iowa with his 
son, spending his last years here. His death 
occurred October 21, 1880. His wife sur- 
vived him and passed away ^Liy 16, 1895. 
Of their six children Lewis was married, settled 
in ^Montgomery county ami there spent his re- 
maining days ; Walter is living in ^[onroe, 
Utah; William resides in Pottawattamie coun- 
ty, Iowa ; Mary Martha is the wife of D. H. 
Harris, of Platte, South Dakota ; Richard is 
living in Henry county, Illinois ; and Daniel 
completes the family. 

L'pon the old homestead farm in Illinois Dan- 
iel Jones, i>f this review, was reared. lie had 
little ojjportunity for attending school and is 
largely a self-educated as well as self-made man, 
but experience and observation have broad- 
ened his knowledge, while lalior has enabled 
him to advance beyond a humble financial po- 
sition to one of affluence. He was married in 
Henry county, September IT, 1876, to Miss 
ilary Ann Williams, who was born in Iowa 
county, Wisconsin, a daughter of William A. 
Williams, Avhose birth occttrred in South Wales 
and who on emigrating to America settled in 
Wiscitnsin, where he resided for fourteen years. 
He then took up his abode in Henry county, 
Illinois, where he reared his family of eight 
children. He continued a resident of that lo- 
calitv until called to his final rest on the 2d 



64 



PAST AND PEESENT OP WOODBritY COUXTY 



of February, 181)4. His wife survived him 
six years and passed away in 1900. 

After his marriage Mr. Jones engaged in 
operating the old home farm for nine years 
and then came to Iowa in 1885, settling in 
Woodbury county, Avhere he purchased one hun- 
dred and sixty acres. Only slight improve- 
ments had been made and lie at once began 
the further development and cultivation of the 
farm. He added to and remodeled the house, 
also enlarged the barn, jdanted shade and fruit 
trees and has continiied the work of perma- 
nent improvement until his farm property is 
now one of the best in his locality. In addi- 
tion to the cultivation of the fields he is en- 
gaged in the raising and feeding of stock and 
is kuown as a very successful stockman, being 
an excellent judge of cattle and horses, whereby 
he is enabled to make judicioiis i^urchases and 
profitable sales. He has continuously engaged 
in farming with the exception of a brief period 
of five years. In lSi)G he removed to Correc- 
tionville, where he engaged in drilling wells 
through the period designated, and then re- 
turned to the farm. 

Unto Mr. and ^Irs. Jones have been born 
six children who are yet living: Edward W., 
who is now a medical student in Iowa City, 
Iowa ; Sadie, the wife of W. B. Heritage, a bar- 
ber of Correctionville ; Lewis B.. who is liv- 
ing on the home farm : and .\^lbert, Ira W. 
and Elsie, at home. 

Politically ^Mr. Jones is a stanch Eepubliean 
where national questions are involved. He 
has served as a member of the school board 
for three years and as one of the school di- 
rectors for a nvmiber of years, and the cause 
of education finds in him a warm friend who 
has done eifective service in its behalf. He 
was also commissioner of highways in Henry 
county. He and his wife held inemlicrship 
in the Baptist church at Correctionville and 
he has been a deacon, ti'ustee and Sunday-school 
superintendent. He is now a member of the 
j\Ioderii Woodmen Camp at Correctionville and 



in fraternal as well as business circles is widely 
and favorably known. He has helped to make 
the county what it is to-day and has been par- 
ticularly active in its agricultural developAient. 



JOilX AKKXSDOKF. 

John Arensdorf, who stands at the head of 
the John Arensdorf ^Mercantile Company of 
Sioux City, is one of America's adopted sons, 
who have found in the business conditions of 
this great and growing country the opportuni- 
ties they have sought for advancement and for 
the exercise of their native talents. Mr. Arens- 
dorf was l)orn in Belgium in 1850, and spent 
the years of his minority in that land, acquiring 
his education in the public schools. In the year 
ISTl he came to the United States, locating first 
in Pittsburg, where he secui-ed emjiloyment in 
a l)rewery. He afterward removed to Cleve- 
land, Ohio, where he occupied a similar posi- 
tion and later he was located successively in 
Cincinnati, Ohio: St. Louis, Missouri; and in 
Chicago. He worked in different breweries in 
these cities, occupying various business capaci- 
ties, and from Chicago he went to Milwaukee, 
where he entered the employ of ilr. Blatz, who 
sent him as brewmaster to St. (_'loud, ]\Iiune- 
sota. In 1877 he came to Sioux C'ity to accept 
a iiosition as bre'\\anaster in the Fraiaz brewei'v, 
where he remained, becoming part owner until 
the Prohibition movement in the state caused 
the business to be closed out. He then became 
agent for the Schlitz Brewing Comjjany, doing 
business just across the river, where ln' re 
mained until the law was changed. He then 
returned to Sioux City and was agent fur the 
Schlitz Brewing Comjjany until it was discon- 
tinued, since which time he has been engaged in 
the wholesale liquor business. He embarked 
in this enterprise in 1887 and it is conducted 
under the name of the John Arensdorf Mercan- 
tile ComiDanj'. !Mr. Arensdorf employs a num- 
ber of traveling salesmen, whose territory cov- 




^WWo'^^x-e-^ad ^'^Vl^ 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



67 



ers western Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and 
u part of Minnesota. 

In 187(5 Mr. Areusdorf was married to Miss 
Elizabeth Schoen, of St. Cloud, Minnesota, 
whose father, John Schoen, was a farmer in 
that state. They have four children, two sons 
and two daughters, and one of the sons, John 
Areusdorf, Jr., is associated with his father in 
business. Mrs. Areusdorf belongs to the Cath- 
olic church and Mr. Arensdorf has various fra- 
ternal relations, being a member of the Knights 
of Pythias, the Fraternal Eagles, the Druids, 
the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the 
Bankers' Union. In his political views, how- 
ever, he is independent, STipporting candidates 
whom he thinks best qualified for office with 
little regai'd to party affiliations. He is a typ- 
ical representative of our German-American 
citizenship — men who have come from the fa- 
therland, possessing the resolute purpose and 
energy characteristic of the race and in Amer- 
ica luive advanced from humble surn.iuudings 
to success. 



JAMES M. CLINGENPEEL. 

James M. Clingenpeel, deceased, was one of 
the prosperous farmers and highly esteemed cit- 
izens of Listen township. He was a native of 
Indiana, born on a farm near Sardinia, July 
15, 1856, a son of Allen and Sarah (Curry) 
Clingenpeel. The birth of the former oc- 
curred in Ohio, July 20, 1822, and he was 
quite young when his father, George Clingen- 
peel, died. At the age of seventeen years he 
removed to Indiana, where he was married on 
the 22d of December, 1846, to Miss Sarah 
Curry, who was born March 17, 1826, and is 
still living at the age of seventy-eight years. 
She was the fourth in order of birth in her 
father's family, the others being Matilda, who 
died very young; Mary, who is the widow of 
Joseph Heinelick and is living in Indiana, at 
the age of eighty-two years ; Alexander, who also 



makes his home in that state and was eighty 
years of age in May, 1904; James, who died 
at the age of twenty-one years ; John, who died 
at the age of eighteen ; Thomas, who is living 
in Indiana at the age of sixty; and Annie, 
the widow of Charles Miller and a resident of 
Cincinnati, Ohio. The parents of these chil- 
dren were James and Annie (Ferguson) Cur- 
ry, who made their home in Indiana, where 
the former died in 1875, at the age of eighty- 
six years, and the latter January 1, 1880, at 
the age of eighty. In 1876 Allen Clingenpeel 
brought his family to Iowa and settled in Mo- 
nona county, where be died on the 19th of Sep- 
tember, 1899, at the age of seventy-seven years. 
His children were : George, who was born Oc- 
tober 24, 1847, and is now living with his 
family near Boston, Missouri; Annie, who was 
born jMarch 14, 1850, and is now Mrs. Peter 
Moore, of Sioux City, Iowa; Mary, who was 
born October 11, 1853, and died October 21, 
1876 ; James ^I., whose name introduces this 
sketch; John, who was born August 6, 1860, 
and lives in Oklahoma; and William A., who 
was born January 6, 1865, and now operates 
the farm left by our subject. He is married 
and has two children: Cora, now the wife of 
Albert Christanson ; and Oscar. 

In the state of his nativity James M. Cling- 
enpeel grew to manhood and attended the 
schools of Sardinia until eighteen years of age, 
when he commenced working by the month on 
a farm. His whole life was devoted to agri- 
cultTiral pursuits and in his labors he met with 
excellent success, becoming the owner of a fine 
farm of two hundred and forty acres in Lis- 
tiin township, this county, after the removal of 
tlie family to Iowa. In connection with the 
cultivation of his land he also engaged in feed- 
ing cattle for market and so successful was he 
that he was able to leave his family in com- 
fortable circiTmstances. 

On the 2d of December, 1877, Mr. Clingen- 
peel was united in marriage to Miss Olive 
Wliite, also a native of Indiana and a daus:hter 



68 



PAST AXD riJESENT OF WOOFiBrKY COUNTY 



of James White, of that state. She was bom 
on the 15th of January, 1858, and was edu- 
cated in the jiublic scliools of Indiana. ]\Ir. 
and ilrs. Clingenjjeel became the ]iarciifs of 
four children, wliose names and dates of birth 
are as follows: Allen Leonard, November 19, 
1883; Lester, October 15, 1886; Arthur, May 
1, 1889 ; and Edna May, August 28, 1893. aIi 
are at home witli their mother and the sons 
assist in the operation of the farm, though tlie 
oldest works for others a part of the time. 

Mr. Clingenpeel died of typhoid imeumonia 
N"ovember 4, 1899. Politically he was a Dem- 
ocrat and religit)usly was an earnest and con- 
sistent member of the Free Methodist churcli 
at Danbury, to whicli his wife also belongs, 
though she was reared in the Methodist Protest- 
ant church, to which her parents belonged, while 
her grandparents were Presbyterians in reli- 
gious belief. During his residence in this state 
Mr. Clingenpeel made many warm friends and 
he was held in the highest regard by all ^vho 
knew him. 



GENEKAL A. D. COLLIER. 

Brigadier General A. D. Collier is a dis- 
tinguished lawyer of the Iowa l)av, haying been 
assistant solicitor of the Burlington, Cedar 
Rapids & Northern Raih-oad Company for 
some years, and a practitioner at Sioux City. 
He is a native son of the state in which his 
labors have been so intelligently directed as to 
make his career one of signal usefulness to his 
fcllownu'n. He lias been and is distinctively 
a man of atfairs and one wlio has wielded a 
marked intluence. A str<ing nieiitality, an in- 
vineilile courage, a most dctermiued individ- 
uality luive so entered into his makeup as to 
render him a natural leader of men ami a 
director of jiulilic opinion. 

General Collier was born in Iowa during its 
territorial days, his birth having occurred in 
Muscatine county, Xovemlier 3, 1S40. Tht- 



family \\as at ouv time resident of New York 
and his ancestors were residents of that state 
at the time of the Revolution. His father, 
Samuel H. Collier, born in Steuben county, 
New Y'ork, August 5, 1805, arrived in Iowa 
on the 10th of May, 1838, casting in his lot 
with its pioneer settlers and aiding materially 
in the early develojmient of the commonwealth. 
^\t the time of tlie border troubles between ^lis- 
souri and Iowa over the boundary line between 
the two states, he held a caj^tain's commission 
from Governor Robert Lucas. His wife, Nancy 
Davenport Collier, also a native of New York, 
was born December 7, 1812. 

The early boyhood days of General Ci;>llier 
were spent upon the homestead farm, but at 
his father's death, in October, 1852, he was 
thrown upon his own resources, being then not 
quite twelve years of age. Unremitting labor 
was his portion in youth and unwearied in- 
dustry has been the secret of his success in 
after years. In 1857, with a party of tw-enty- 
one young men, he went from Muscatine coun- 
ty, Iowa, to Kansas, where they took claims 
in that new territory, jiist qiiieting down after 
the exciting and troublous days of 1856. Mr. 
Collier was then liut seventeen years of age, but 
his early exjieriences had made him a self- 
reliant yoTing man, with the judgment and 
ability of many a man whose years greatly 
outnumbered his. In the spring of 1860 he 
returned to Iowa. Having become impressed 
with the great value of education as a factor 
in a successful career, he resolved to impair 
the lack of his boyhood and entered "Western 
College, th(>n located in Linn county. He had 
just comjileted his first year when tlie war broke 
out. 

Rapid was the jirogress of events at that day. 
President Lincoln issued his call for seventy- 
tive thousand volunteers on the 15th of April, 
1S(>1 ; Governor Kirkwood, of Iowa, issued his 
jiroclamation for one regiment on the 17th; and 
on the 19th General Collier enlisted in what 
was afterward Company K, First Iowa Vol- 




GEX. A. D. COLLIEE. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



71 



unteer Infantry. He served with his regiment 
through the Missouri and Arkansas campaigns 
under General Lyons and participated in the 
battle of Wilson's creek after the exj)iration of 
his term. He was commissioned a first lien- 
tenant in the recruiting service by Governor 
Kirkwood and Adjutant General N. B. Baker 
and served in that capacity in 1862 and 1863, 
and later he was at the front with the Forty- 
fourth Iowa Infantry, receiving his final dis- 
charge September 15, 186i. 

After the close of the war General (Jollier re- 
sumed his studies and won siiccessively the de- 
grees of Bachelor of Science and Master of 
Science. He then began preparation for the 
bar and following his admission by Tudge 
James H. Rothrock, March 26, 1867, he haa 
since been engaged in practice, and has long 
maintained an honorable position at the Io^\a 
bar. He was not long in gaining a good clien- 
tage, which has constantly developed in extent 
and alsii in the importance of the character of 
his work. He was city attorney of the city of 
Cedar Eapids, Linn county, Iowa, during the 
years 1874, 1875 and 1876, and was assistaiu". 
solicitor of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & 
N'orthern Railway Company from 1878 to 
1884. Since 1887 he has made his home in 
Sioux City, where he has a law business that 
continually brings him in association with the 
leading practitioners of this part of the state, 
and he is still in the active practice of his pro- 
fession. 

General Collier is a prominent member of 
the Grand Army of the RepTiblic, and is a past 
commander of General Hancock Post, 'No. 22, 
Department of Iowa. He has long been a 
member of the Iowa National Guard and \\'as 
one of the first company commanders in the 
state. He was commissioned captain of the 
Baker Guards in June, 1873, and on January 
28, 1874, lieiitenant colonel of cavalry and 
aide-de-camp on Commander-in-chief Governor 
C. C. Carpenter's staff; was again captain of 
Company C, First Regiment, August 10, 1878 ; 



assistant insj)ector general. First Brigade, Gen- 
eral Banks commanding July 1, 1881 ; re-elect- 
ed major of the First Regiment, April 14, 
1884 ; and was commissioned brigadier general 
and judge advocate general on Governor Frank 
D. Jackson's staff, February 1, 1894, his pres- 
ent commission and rank. 

General Collier has been an active and effi- 
cient member and worker in the Iowa National 
Guard ever since its organization, and to him 
is largely due the credit of the present efficient 
military law now on our statute. Prior to 
1879 there had been but little done of a prac- 
tical nature for the betterment of the Guard 
and it was in a chaotic condition ; it is true, 
there were a few companies organized but the 
state gave them no assistance, save to furnish 
a few old muskets and cartridge bo.xes and the 
officers and members were obliged to keep up 
their organization by voluntary contributions 
and by the generosity and patriotism of the 
communities where they were located. 

There had been two or three military con- 
\'entions, one held in Dubuque and one in Des 
!Moincs, of which such men as Governor Frank 
D. Jackson, General James Rush Lincoln, Gen- 
eral John R. Prime, Colonel C. V. Mount, Col- 
onel P. C. Ballingall, General Byron A. Bee- 
son, Colonel Sweeny, Colonel McCarthy and 
others were present, who in after years were 
distinguished as prominent officers in the 
Guard. But it was not until May 14, 1879, at 
IMarshalltown that any definite action was for- 
mally taken. At that meeting a committee 
on the revision of the military law of the state 
of Iowa was appointed with General Collier 
as chairman and a united effort Avas then put 
forth for the securing of some favorable legisla- 
tion. General Collier spent the entire winter 
of 1879 and 1880 in attendance upon and urg- 
ing the legislature to enact some law bestow- 
ing recognition upon and substantially aiding 
the Guard. He drew the original bill that was 
passed and approved March 20, 1880, which 
under section 51 of said act appropriated +he 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBIJIV COINTY 



sum of twenty tlioiisand dollars jjer anmiiii fi.r 
the stij^jjort and maintenance of the Iowa Na- 
tional Guard, the first dollar ever ajJiiropriaied 
by the state of Iowa for that ijurposc. 

That there was great rejoieing all along the 
line liy memhcrs of tlio Guard goes witjiout 
^^aying and waiiy were tlie congratnlaticms re- 
ceived by General Collier for his efficient and 
successful labors. As a recognition of his work 
as an officer and soldier and to show the high 
regard and esteem in which he was held by 
his superior officers, he was especially detailed 
by General W. L. ^Vlexander, on order of Gov- 
ernor Gear, Commander-in-chief, in general or- 
ders Xo. 2, Jul}' 20, 1880, to make an in- 
spection and muster of the Iowa National 
Guard for jjayment on uniforms. This in- 
spection, which was made in conjunction with 
Adjtitant General Alexander and Inspector 
General W. TI. Thrift, was under the new law 
enacted and was thorough and rigid. The re- 
sult was that a large number of companies 
throughout the state, not coming up to the re- 
quired standard, were mustered out of the serv- 
ice by general orders No. 3, September, 1880, 
and from nine regiments and a battery or two 
the numbers were materially reduced and the 
standard of efficiency correspondingly raised. 
General Collier takes great pride and interest 
in the Iowa National Guard, and feels that in 
some degree he has contributed to its establish- 
ment and success, and though it has passed 
from and through the experimental stage to 
the high position it now occupies, he is the same 
stanch, firm friend and worker as of old and 
nothing gives him so nmeh pleasure as to visit 
the annual inspections and encampments and 
note the splendid condition and efficiency of the 
Guard and ('(inipnre it with twenty-five year^ 
ago. 

General Collier has been married twice and 
is the father of four children. His present 
wife is Ethel Van Fassen Collier and together 
they are living with their little daughter Ethel 
Mary Collier, a girl of ton years, nt their pleas- 



ant home in Smith's Villa in Sioux City and 
she is the light and joy of his later years. 



GEOlUiK DOUGLAS PKHKIXS. 

To the energetic natures and strong mental- 
ity (if such men as Hon. George Douglas Per- 
kins, editor of the Sioux City Journal, is due 
the success and ever increasing prosjjerity of 
the Republican party in Iowa, and in the hands 
iif this class of citizens there is ever assurance 
that the Ix'st interests and welfare of the party 
will be nttemlcd tn, resulting in a successful 
cnlniiuation of the highest ambitions and 3X- 
prrtations entertained by its adherents. Giv- 
en to the ])rosecution of active measures in po- 
litical aifairs and possessing the earnest pur- 
}iose of placing their party beyond the ])ale of 
possible dimtinition of power, the Reiiublican 
leaders in Iowa are ever advancing, carrying 
everything before them in their irresistible on- 
ward march. Certainly one of the most potent 
elements in the success of the Reptiblican move- 
ment in Iowa is George D. Perkins, who 
tliriiughout his life has licen a loyal citizen, 
inibnrd with [intriutisni and fearless in defense 
of his honest convictions. In llic Civil war lie 
followed the Union banners on southern liat- 
tlefields and he has since, just as fearlessly 
and just as loyally, advocated in the halls of 
congress and throtigh the press the principles 
which he believes will advance the welfare of 
the nation. Such is the man whose life his- 
tory forms the tlu>n f this article. 

^Ir. Perkins was born in Holley, Orleans 
county. New Vork, Fel)ruary 20, 1S40, a sou 
of -lolni D. and Lucy (Forsytli) Perkins, the 
former a initive of ( 'onnectimit and the lat- 
ter of New ^'ork, while both were descemlaiits 
of old New England families. The fatiier was 
an attorney who came to thi' west on account of 
failing licaltb wlien his son (ietn'ge was lint 
six yeai's old. The family sjient one year in 
Indiana, two vears in Milwaukee and then re- 



PAST AND TEESENT OF WOUDBUKY COUNTY 



75 



moved to Baraboo, AViscousiii, wliicli was the 
family residence when the father died in ISoO. 
Since that time George D. Perkins has been 
dependent upon his own exertions, and from 
hninble tinancial circumstances he has risen to 
atiinence through the opjiortunity which is the 
pride of our American life. In tlie meantime 
he had attended the public schools and had also 
extended his education under private instruc- 
tion. 

When sixteen years of age he began learning 
the printer's trade in the office of the Baraboo 
Re]niblic, of Baraboo, Wisconsin. In 1S60 he 
and his brother Henry removed to Cedar Falls, 
Iowa, and established a pajjer which they 
called the Gazette, Mr. Perkins continuing an 
active factor in its publication until AiTgus!", 
1863, when he enlisted as a private soldier in 
Company B, Thirty-first Iowa Infantry. At 
Helena, Arkansas, he was taken violently ill 
and from the hospital was transferred to Jef- 
ferson Barracks, St. Louis, where on the 12th 
of January, 1864, he was discharged and sent 
home — it was thought to die. It was found 
that he was suffering from abscess on the liver 
and it was long ere he rcco^'ered. 

In 180(1 the brothers sold the Gazette and 
removed to Chicago, where JMr. Perkins served 
for three years as agent for the ISTorthwestern 
Association Press. In April, 1869, he came to 
Sioiix City and purchased the Journal of Mah- 
lon Gore, and removing to this city took pos- 
session of the office on the 1st of May of that 
year, and has since been editor of the papei-. In 
1870, being joined by his brother Henry, they 
established the Daily Journal, uoav one of the 
leading daily papers of the northwest. The 
firm of Perkins Brothers, with the exception 
of two years, beginning in the summer of 1876, 
when George D. Perkins conducted the busi- 
ness alone, had a continuous existence up to 
the time of the death of Henry Perkins, in 
November, 1884. At that time a stock com- 
pany was formed under the name of Perkins 
Brothers Com])any, and George 1). Perkins has 



since been president and manager. Through- 
out the whole of his journalistic career he 
has been connected with but two j^apers. He is 
thoroughly conversant with the "art preserva- 
tive" and moreover he keeps abreast with the 
best thinking men of the age, and treats with 
fairness and ability the questions M-hich are 
under public discussion. 

Mr. Perkins has been jjarticularly influential 
in public affairs, especially in those relating to 
the political conditions of city, state and na- 
tion, and in 1873 was chosen to represent his 
district in the state senate, in which he sened 
for one term. In 1890 he was elected by nearly 
one thousand ijlurality over the Democratic, 
Independent and Prohibition candidates to rep- 
resent the eleventh Iowa district in congress 
and served four terms. During Governor 
Gear's administration he was commissioner of 
immigration, his term of office expiring by lim- 
itation of the statute at the end of two years. 
From President Arthur he received appoint 
ment to the position of United States marshal 
for the northern district of Iowa and was re- 
moved by President Cleveland tuider a charge 
of "offensive partisanship." He was a delegate 
to the Republican national convention at Cin- 
cinnati in 1876; at Chicago in 1880; and again 
in Chicago in 1888. He has been an active 
member of the party since the Fremont catu- 
paign of 1856, and cast his first presidential 
vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. 

In 1869 Mr. Perkins married Miss Louise 
E. Julia, a native of Xew York city, and they 
have five living children : Florence, Samuel, 
Clara, William and Thomas, ilr. Perkins, as 
a citizen of Sioux City, has extended his efforts 
to various fields in which, as an acknowledged 
leader, he has championed the highest interests 
of the miinicipality and the people at large. Lie 
and his family are identified with the Congre- 
gational chui'ch, and he is a member of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. He is spoken 
of as (ine of the leading men of Iowa. In his 
writings and in speech he is logical, candid nnd 



7TB 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



sincere, and his utterances show deep thought 
and wide research. He has come to be held 
in high honor as one of tlie most forceful fac- 
tors in journalistic ami ])nlitical circles in his 
state. 



JOSEPH PAYETTE. 



Joseph Payette, who as a contractor and 
builder is conducting a prosperous business in 
Sioux < 'ity, has had an eventful and interest- 
ing career and there is much in his life his- 
tory that could well serve as a lesson worthy 
of emulation. When he first came to this city 
at the age of twenty years he could not sjjeak 
English and he not only had to master the lan- 
guage but had to adapt himself to the ways of 
a new peojile, but although thus handicapped he 
has steadily jjrogressed in business circles and 
has eventually gained a comfortable compe- 
tence. He was born near Montreal, Canada, 
in 1840, and is a son of ISTelson and Zoe (Can- 
tale) Payette, who were also natives of Canada. 
The father was a farmer by occupation and 
died at Grosvenor, ConnecticiTt, in IDOl, at the 
age of ninety-nine years. His wife had passed 
away when about forty-four years of age. Jo- 
seph was the fifteenth in oi'der of birth in their 
family n{ nineteen children and four of the 
number are now living in Sioux City: Xel- 
son, Joseph, Thaphlile and .Vdolphus D. 

Mr. Payette acquired his early education in 
the French schools of his native town. He 
began to learn the carpenter's trade in his home 
locality when he was fourteen years of age. 
On leaving Canada he located at Troy, ISTew 
York, in 1863, and there followed the carpen- 
ter's trade for a brief period, but gradually 
worked his way westward. Pie was six weeks 
in making the trip from Boonesboro to Sioux 
City with an ox team. This was in 1865 and 
here he entered the employ of the United States 
government, taking charge of a drove of horses 
and siipplies with which he started up the 



Missouri river, traveling by way of the forts. 
He had two boatloads of supplies, one for Fort 
Eandall and one for Fort Benton, but on the 
way he met Captain Reed returning and the 
trip was abandoned. At this time a man liv- 
ing in Sioux ( 'ity by the name of Pratt offered 
]Mr. Payette a home with him and also gave 
him a chance for atteiiding school, as he could 
not speak the English language at that time. 
He was then but twenty-five years of age and 
he sjient one year in school, his first English 
teacher being Mrs. E. Todd, who had charge of 
the school in the little brick school house. A 
year later 'Mr. Payette had an opportunity to 
work at the carpenter's trade in the old [llinois 
Central depot at good wages and the temptation 
was too great, so he put aside his text books 
and began following the builder's trade. In 
1866 F. X. Batul became a partner of G. Pay- 
ette. This partnershi}) was continued for nine 
years, after which he was alone in business 
for a time and in 1891 he entered into partner- 
shi]> with ]\r. A. Comeau, a contractor. In 
IS'.t'.t he went to Montreal, Canada, where he 
remained for about four months and in !May, 
1900, returned to Sioux City and organized 
the Payette Construction Company, of which 
he became president and manager. This com- 
pany was formed for the purpose of doing a 
general contracting and building business and 
now has offices at Iso. 514 Pearl street. 

During the period of his residence in Sioux 
City ]\Ir. Payette has been associated with the 
erection of some of the important buildings 
here, including the Metropolitan block, the 
Pcavey Grand Opera House at the corner of 
Jones and Fourth streets, and several fine resi- 
dences. He also built the Catholic church at 
Early, Iowa, and the Catholic church at Lohr- 
ville, Iowa, the Catholic church at Ida Grove, 
Iowa, the courthouse at Elk Point, South Da- 
kota, the bank building at Westfield, Iowa, the 
bank liuildings at Bloomfield and Belden, 'Ne- 
braska, and the bank and store building at Bel- 
den, Nebraska, which was erected in 1904. 




JOSEPH PAYETTE. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



He also built the Corn Palace in Sioux City 
in ISitl and a building at the corner of Douglas 
and Fourth streets in 1903. Also Arcade 
building, Cromaus block, in 1887, and many 
more business blocks and residences. These 
buildings indicate excellent workmanship and 
thorough understanding of the trade, and in 
business circles Mr. Payette has always occu- 
pied an enviable position. 

In 1860 Mr. Payette was married in Sioux 
City to Miss Hannah Benoit, who died in 1880 
at the age of thirty-six years, and their chil- 
dren were Effie, May and Adelbert. On the 
7th of January, 1890, he was again married, 
his second union being with Philamenne St. 
Pierre, of Montreal, Canada, and in Sioux 
City they have many friends. He was for 
eighteen years a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, and is a charter mem- 
ber of St. John the Baptiste (Catholic) church, 
of which he was for seven years a trustee. He 
I is a member of the Mystic Toilers, the Frater- 
I nal Chopjiers of America, Red Men and the 
' Catholic Knights of Columbus. A life of un- 
j tiring acti\-ity and energy crowned with suc- 
cess — such has liccn the history of Mr. Payette 
j and it is certainly in many respects worthy of 
I high commendation. 



LINCOLN R. :\lYEPvS. 

"Through struggles to triunijih" appears to 
be the maxim which holds sway over the ma- 
jority (if (lur citizens and tli<nigli it is unde- 
nialily true that many meet failure there are 
others who through their inherent force of char- 
acter and strong mentality rise ]iaramount to 
environment and all which appears to hinder 
them, and eventually attain the success which 
is the goal of all ambitious and enterprising 
rffort. Of this class Mr. Myers is a represen- 
tative. He is actively engaged in the hard- 
ware, implement and farm machinery business 



in Anthon and for a number of years was a 
leading farmer of Woodbury county. 

A native son of Iowa, Mr. Myers Avas born 
in JSTevada, Story county, January il, 18G2. 
His father. Dr. Jonathan E. Myers, was born 
in Pennsylvania in 1830 and, having spent his 
boyhood there and attained to years of ma- 
turity, he was married to Miss Eliza Bears, 
also a native of Pennsylvania. Removing 
westward to Iowa he located in Nevada in 1850, 
making the journey ere railroads were built in 
that part of the state. He was one of the pio- 
neer physicians of Iowa and practiced his pro- 
fession in Story and Polk counties for a num- 
ber of years. Later he removed to Woodbury 
county, where he continued the practice of med- 
icine and spent his remaining days, his death 
there occurring in T.M):.'. He was one of the 
prominent and influential residents of Wood- 
bury county, well known in Sioux City and 
other portions of northwestern Iowa. He did 
important service for his fellow men as one 
of the early ])hysicians of the state, traveling 
for miles over the unbroken prairies in order to 
render medical aid to the sick and suffering. 
His widow still survives him and now resides 
in California. 

Lincoln R. Myers was reared to manhood in 
Polk county, Iowa, and in bis youth attended 
the common schools, while later he pursued a 
high school education. When a young man he 
came to Woodbury county and located in Grant 
township, where he engaged in farming. Hav- 
ing jjurchased one hundred and sixty acres of 
raw prairie land, he ]ilaced this under the plow, 
In-eaking his fields with ox teams. The work of 
farming was carried forward by him contin- 
ually until he bad developed a very valuable 
property and as bis financial resources increased 
he added to his landeil jiossessions from time 
to time until he is now the owner of about nine 
hundred acres in Woodbury and Plymouth 
counties. He was actively and successfully en- 
gaged in farming until 189!) Avhen he rented 
his farm and removed to Sioux Citv, where he 



80 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



was engaged in dealing in live stock for two 
years. In 1901 he took up his abode in An- 
thon. Here he erected a large business block 
and he now carries an extensive line of hard- 
ware, implements and farm machinery, binding 
twine, harness, wagons, buggies and carriages. 
He is rapidly building up a good trade and has 
already secured a very desirable share of the 
public patronage. 

In 1881, in Grant township, Mr. flyers was 
united in marriage to Miss Alice A. Mitchell, 
daughter of D. W. Mitchell, of Jasper county. 
She is a native of Iowa, born in Jasper coimty, 
and coming to Woodbury county in her girl- 
hood days was here reared. There are four 
children by this marriage: Edna, Lela, Ralla 
J. and Bessie. 

Mr. Myers is a Keimblicau but the honors 
and emoluments of office have had no attraction 
for him. He is, however, serving as a mem- 
ber of the town council. He belongs to the In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, has tilled all 
the chairs and is a past grand of Anthon Lodge. 
Success comes as the legitimate result of well 
apjdied energy, unflagging determination and 
pei'severance in the course of action when once 
decided upon, and in tracing the career of Mr. 
Myers it is evident tlmt these comnieudable qual- 
ities have f<n-ni('(I tli<' foumlatiuii of liis jiros- 
perity. His personal characteristics are siich 
as have insured to him the high esteem of all 
who know him and in the history of \Voo<l- 
bury county he well deserves mention. 



JOSEPH A. FOYE. 



The business history of Joseph A. Foye is 
one in which is illustrated the power of inde- 
fatigable effort and honorable purpose in the 
active affairs of life. His course has been 
characterized by discriminating judgment, by 
ready recognition of opportunity and by the 
utilization of every means at hand leading to 
honorable success and to-dav he is identified 



with important interests of Siou.x City, interests 
which place him in the front rank among the 
leading and influential business men of north- 
western Iowa. He is the president of the Foye 
(k- Goodrich transfer and bus line, is also en- 
gaged in the manufacture of lumber in Union 
county, in eastern Oregon, where he spends his 
winters in the interest of the business, and also 
lias extensive and important ranch interests. 

Mr. Foye was born in Orangeville, Stephen- 
son county, Illinois, on the 21st of October, 
1853. His i^arents were Charles A. and Lavina 
(Deal) Foye. The father, who was born in 
Belgrade, Kennebec county, Maine, November 
8, 1832, was a stone-mason by trade and also 
conducted a general store in the east. In the 
year 1854 he removed westward to Black Hawk 
county, Iowa, and conducted a general mercan- 
tile establishment in Barkley township, that 
county. He was associated with A. Barkley in 
laying out the township and also conducted a 
hotel in the village. Mr. Foye remained there 
when most of the townsmen left at the time of 
the Minnesota massacre. In 1858 he sold his 
store and hotel but still retained possession of 
his farm, which was situated in Lester township, 
Black Hawk county. 

On the opening of the Civil war he responded 
to the call to arms and with patriotic loyalty 
espoused the Union cause, becoming a member 
of Company C, Thirty-first Iowa Infantry, un- 
der Captain John Cook. He served under Gen- 
eral John A. Logan and was also with General 
Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea. 
He ])articipated in the siege and battle of Vicks- 
burg and was in the battle of Jackson, Missis- 
sippi. Subsequent to the death of his first com- 
mander. Captain Cook, he was under the com- 
mand of Captain Smith. He took part in a bat- 
tle in South Carolina, where an attempt was 
made to run a line across the river. After all 
efforts had failed the captain called on Charles 
A. Foye, who told the captain that if he could 
choose four men he would undertake the task. 
This he did and a half hour later he succeeded 



:.^s 




px,-A^ 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUPY COUNTY 



83 



in placing the cable rojjes across the river al- 
though ten thousand Rebel troops were stationed 
there. Before daybreak the main army had 
passed over on pontoon boats, built breastworks 
and soon captured the city. Mr. Foye was al- 
ways most faithful to his duty and when the 
war was over he received an honorable dis- 
charge. He then returned to his farm but after 
a short time he rented that property and re- 
moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where he engaged in 
contracting and building. Ultimately, however, 
he sold his business there and in 1879 made his 
way to Sioux City. Soon afterward he located 
on a farm just across the river in J^ebraska and 
there he lived until his death, which occurred on 
the 16th of February, 1898, when he was si.xty- 
nine years of age. His wife, who was born in 
Philadelphia, died May 16, 1890. 

At the age of nine years Joseph A. Foye was 
left to manage the farm. He received his edu- 
cation in the district schools and in Waterloo, 
Iowa, where he completed his studies. At the 
age of eighteen he started to work for Walter 
Hitchcock, owner of the bus and transfer line, 
and in six months was made foreman. When 
twenty years of age he became a brakeman for 
the Illinois Central Railroad, running between 
Waterloo and Mona, and in a short time was 
made train, baggage and express messenger. 
They also carried the mail between Waterloo, 
Fort Dodge and Sioux City. On the 17th of 
December, 1878, he had his arm broken, besides 
receiving other injuries in a wreck at Fort 
Dodge, and this incapacitated him for further 
business imtil June 15, 1879. In that year he 
removed to Sioux City and took the examina- 
tion for conductor on a frieght train, but in a 
short time he found that the arm that had been 
injured eould not stand the strain of climbing 
over box cars in safety as there were no bridges 
in those days and in consequence he accejited his 
old run in order to look after his fruit shippers' 
interests. He also became the owner of a half 
interest in a grocery store in the Barlow block, 
which was conducted under the firm name of 



Foye & Deal, and he was associated with this 
enterprise until 1883, when he sold out. He 
then took leave of absence from the railroad 
company and went to Coldridge, Nebraska, 
where he built a barn and engaged in transfer- 
ring passengers for the Omaha Railroad Com- 
pany from that place to Hardington and Yank- 
ton, connecting with the Chicago, Milwaukee 
A: St. Paul Railroad. He also built a barn at 
Hardington and in connection with the livery 
business conducted a hotel, known as the Myers 
Hotel. He became proprietor of the latter be- 
cause of the fact that he had loaned the proprie- 
tor, Mr. Myers, one thousand dollars, and he 
took charge of the hotel until Mr. Myers was 
alilo to pay the money. At length ]Mr. Foye 
sold all his property at Hardington and re- 
turned to Sioux City. In 188-4 he purchased 
the James E. Booge bus and transfer line, for 
which he paid four thousand dollars, and since 
then he has developed a business which repre- 
sents an invested capital of twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars. In 1887 he bought a bus line and 
barn at Waterloo, loAva, and consolidated his in- 
terest there with the street car company, capital- 
ized for eighteen thousand dollars. Mr. Rey- 
nolds, of Boone, Iowa, held two-thirds of the 
stock and Mr. Foye one-third, and the latter 
was elected president and general manager. In 
1888 he bought the interest of Mr. Reynolds 
but the following year he sold two-thirds of the 
stock to Kellogg & Ilartman for twelve thou- 
sand dollars and returned to Sioux City. Dur- 
ing the year 1889 he owned the Yankton bus 
and transfer line, but afterward sold this to L. 
Reardon. In 1890 he purchased a barn at Ha- 
wardcn and he also built one at Akron, Iowa, 
the same year. These he stocked but later sold 
both. He also built a barn at Browns Valley, 
^linnesota, and became owner of a half sec- 
tion of land in that locality. He has since sold 
the land but still retains possession of the barn. 
In 1893 he built a gristmill at Stateline, Missis- 
sippi. He shipped his worn out horses from 
here to the south and as stock was cheap 



84 



PAST AND PRESEXT OE WOODEUKY COUXTY 



there he purchased cattle which he shipped to 
his Nebraska ranch, where they were fed for 
market. He now owns two hanidred and twenty- 
eight acres of well improved land and a six- 
room summer cottage ou Walker island and a 
half section of land eight miles northeast of 
Creighton, Nebraska, all well improved. In 
1901 he jJwrchased a half interest with S. B. 
Madison, who has since died, in a bus and 
transfer line at Minneapolis, Minnesota, of 
which ]\lr. ^ladisou had been proprietor for 
thirty-five years, and of which Mr. Foye is now 
president and treasurer. He is still in charge 
of the transfer business for the Illinois Central 
Railroad at Sioux City and his name has ap- 
peared on their pay roll since he was nineteen 
years of age. In connection with his son Bert 
H., he at one time owned six hundred acres of 
land in Union county in eastern Oregon, where 
the latter had gone for the benefit of his healtli, 
but has since disposed of that property, with the 
exception of the timber on the land which he 
still retains, and now owns three hundred and 
twenty acres on Catherine creek, where he also 
owns a water-jjower sawmill, known as the Hol- 
brook mill, which was built thirty-eight years 
ago and is to-day one of the best mills of the 
kind in eastern Oregon. It has recently been 
rclniilt and new machinery installed. Here a 
million feet of himber are manufactured an- 
nually aiul there is now a company being 
formed to establish an electric light plant with 
jiower from the mill to run the machinery to 
furnish light for the town of Union. Mr. Foye 
raises a great numy horses on his ranches and 
is niiw jilanning to raise all necessai'v stock for 
his (iwn transfer lines. As an agriculturist, as 
well as in industrial and commercial circles, he 
has met with excellent success. 

On the ."^Ist of May, ISTfi. in the ^klethodist 
Episcopal church at Waterloo, Iowa, ]Mr. Foye 
was married by Rev. Berry to Miss Josephine 
L. Kaylor, who was born in Clinton, Iowa, Aug- 
ust 1. 1854. Her parents were natives of Penn- 
svlvaiiia. About 1889 thev removed to Salem, 



Oregon, where the father died in 1894, but the 
mother is still living there. She is a member of 
the Presbyterian church. In politics Mr. Kay- 
lor was a Iiepul)liean and served as justice of 
the peace and in other minor offices in Black 
Hawk county. He also conducted a general 
store at Lester Center. He had nine children, 
four sons and five daughters, those still living 
being Frank and Bert, both residents of Salem, 
Oregon ; Anna, wife of Isaac Conkling of the 
same place; and Stella A., teacher, at home with 
her mother. Mrs. Foye, who was the eldest, 
died February 11, 1882, of bronchial trouble. 
Prior to her marriage she had successfully en- 
gaged in teaching school in Black Hawk county 
for four years and was a most estimable lady. 
She left two sons: Harry A., born in Waterloo, 
June 5, 1877, was educated in the Sioux City 
iiigli school and also took a business course. He 
uiiw owns stock in the bus and transfer com- 
pany of this place and is also secretary of the 
Minneapolis Bus Line and Transfer Company. 
Socially he is a member of the Benevolent Pro- 
tective Order of Elks and politically is identi- 
fied with the Repulican party. Bert H., the 
younger son, was born in Sioux City, N^ovem- 
lier 21, 1879, and attended the public schools 
and Brown's Business College. He is in part- 
nership with his father in the ranch and saw- 
mill business and is also interested in the busi- 
ness at Minnea])olis, where he spends the sum- 
mer. In politics he is a Republican. He was 
married at Omaha, Nebraska, June 14, 1904, 
to [Miss Grace Wright, a daughter of Dunham 
Wright and a niece of Governor Gear, of Ore 
yiin. Her fatlicv is the (iwncr uf the famous 
nicilical hut springs in rniim cdunry, tliat state. 
He located the sjirings when a mere lad of 
eighteen years, umking the tri]i l>y stage fi'om 
Burlingtim, Iowa. lie is also oiic of tlie largest 
land owners in that locality, as well as one of 
its most prominent and influential citizens. As 
a Democrat he takes an active part in politics 
and for several terms has represented his dis- 
trict in eono-ress, as sei\ator. 



PAST AXD PEESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



85 



Mr. Foye was again married February 10, 
1883, his second union being with Miss Anna 
E. Aldrich, who was born in Brunswick, Ohio, 
September 30, 1854, a daughter of Jason and 
Kate (Perry) Aldrich, natives of the same state. 
In 1856 the family removed to Waterloo, Black 
Hawk county, Iowa, where the father engaged 
in farming and later purchased a large farm 
twelve miles north of that place. In 1892 he 
removed to Cedar Falls, where he is now living 
retired. He affiliates with the Republican 
party and both he and his wife are members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. In their fam- 
ily are three children, of whom Mrs. Foye is 
tlie only daughter. Her brother Perry is a 
resident of Sioux City, where he has served as 
mail carrier for the past fourteen years. He 
niarricil Lila Wood and has two sons, Harry, 
district manager for the Equitable Life Insur- 
ance Company at Cedar Falls, married Mary 
Tiilerton, daughter of Judge Tolerton, and they 
have one daughter, Marguerite. Mrs. Foye is 
a well educated lady and successfully taught 
school in Black Hawk and Bremer counties for 
eighteen terms. She is a member of the Sioux 
City Equality Chib and quite prominent in so- 
cial circles. She is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church and he is connected with the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen. Thefv 
have one son, Joseph A. C., who was born in 
Sioux City, June 24, 188fi, and is now attend- 
ing the high school. 

Extensive and important have been the busi- 
ness enterprises which have claimed the time 
and attention of Mr. Foye. He is a man of keen 
business discernment and careful management, 
who carries forward to successful completion 
whatever he tmdertakes. Entering the business 
world at a very early age, he has improved his 
opportunities, has utilized his time and ener- 
gies to the best advantage and has made consecu- 
tive progress on the high road to success. His 
invested interests are now extensive, yielding to 
him an excellent income, and he is to-day classed 



among the leading and representative citizens 
of Xorthwestern Iowa. 



MRS. E. :m. :\iari( )x^ 



ilrs. E. ^L Marion was born at Besancon, 
France, January 15, 1831. Her father, who 
was extensively engaged in the manufacture of 
stoves, died in Paris in 1845, while her moth- 
er's death occurred in Sioux City, Iowa. 

^Irs. Marion came to the United States in 
1850, locating in St. Louis, and in 1854 she 
gave her hand in marriage to Fred Buchrucker, 
who was employed as a salesman in a general 
store. They came to Sioux City in 1857, find- 
ing here a little village, yet one having good 
inisiness opportunities, which fact ilr. Buch- 
rucker recognized. He established a general 
store and built the first brick store building in 
this city, located at 'No. 221 Pearl street. He 
was not long permitted to condtict the new en- 
terjirise, however, for his death occtirred in 
1860. There were two children by that mar- 
riage, Louisa, who died at the age of nineteen 
years, and Fred, who is now living in St. Louis, 
Missouri. 

jMrs. Buchrucker was again married in 1*^64, 
when she became the wife of Paul J. B. Cla- 
rion, who was serving as an officer on Gen- 
eral Cook's staff at the close of the war. He 
had been a faithful soldier of the Union cause, 
valiant and true, and made for himself a mosv: 
creditable military record. When the country 
was no longer in need of his services in a mili- 
tary capacity he returned to his home in the 
north and became a valued resident of Sioux 
City, where as a merchant he was well known 
for se\'eral years. His death, however, oc- 
curred in 1870 and his loss was deeply mourned 
by many friends, who respected him for his 
general worth, his reliability in business and 
his fidelity in citizenship. He was a son of 
a large diamond merchant of Paris. Unto Mr. 
and ^Irs. !^^arion were born two dauffhters, Em- 



86 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



ma, now the wife of A. B. Crafts, and Eugenia 
Helene, at home. Mrs. Marion is a member of 
St. Thomas' Episcopal church of Sioux City. 
She and her daughter have made two trips to 
Europe, one in 1S8T and the second in ISOl', 
visiting many points of modern and histcn-ic 
interest in the okl world and gaining the knowl- 
edge and culture which only travel cai^ hiiiig. 
They occupy a fine home in Sioux City and 
Mrs. Marion has valuable invested interests 
here. In social circles they hold an enviable 
position and their own household is noted fur 
its charmine; social functions. 



EIGHT REV. PHILIP JOSEPH GARRI- 
GA]^. 

Right Rev. Philip Joseph Garrigan, first 
bishop of the diocese of Sioux City, was born 
in Ireland about the middle of the last century. 
The family emigrated to the United States in 
the early fifties of eighteen hundred, and settled 
in Massachusetts. The future bishop of Sioux 
City received his primary and intermediate 
education in the excellent schools of the old 
Bay state and with it imbibed much of the pro- 
gressive and aggressive spirit of ISTew England 
life and enterprise. From the high school of 
the state he entered St. Charles College, of 
Maryland, preparatory to studying philosophy 
and theology as pre-requisites for the ministry 
of the Catholic priesthood. Having completed 
the curricTilum established for ecclesiastical stu- 
dents, Philip Joseph Garrigan was ordained a 
priest in St. Joseph's Providence Seminary, of 
Troy, New York, Jime 11, 1870. His first mis- 
sion was as an assistant in St. John's parish, 
Worcester, Massachusetts. Thence he was in- 
vited back to the seminary in Troy to assume the 
duties of director or vice-president in 1873. He 
filled this difficult and important office for three 
years, and was then called back to work in his 
own diocese (Springfield, Massachusetts) and 
in the city of Fitchbiirg. Here Father Garri- 



gan labored most zealously and most success- 
fully for fourteen years. He builded churches 
and schools ; took an active part in all public 
movements involving the welfare of the people, 
esijecially the temperance movement ; and en- 
deared himself not only to the people of his own 
flock and faith but also to all classes of citizens 
by his sterling virtues, his untiring activity and 
his continued championship of the cause of 
morality and education. There was universal 
regret throiighout the city when in 1SS8 he 
resolved to accept the position of vice rector of 
the new Catholic university, then in course of 
construction in Washington, D. (.'. He hero- 
ically severed the ties of schools and parish and 
city, and generoiisly threw himself into the new 
world of action as the assistant of the now Arch- 
bishojD Keane of Dubuque, in the greatest work 
the Catholic church had so far undertaken in 
the United States. Having enjoyed during the 
fourteen years of his oifice a very active part in 
the upbuilding and organization of this import- 
ant enterprise. Rev. Dr. Garrigan was called to 
organize and govern the new and important dio- 
cese of Sioux City in 1902. The diocese was 
created in January of that year. The bishop 
was appdiuted by Leo XIII in ]\rareh, and 
Bishop Garrigan was consecrated in his former 
diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, May 
25tli, and installed as bishop of his own see and 
cathedral on June 18, 1902. 



REV. LOUIS PHILIP DAGXAULT. 

Rev. Louis Ph. Dagnault, of St. John the 
Baptist church uf Sioux City, was born in 
;^[ontrcal, Canada, February 21, 18.58, and was 
educated in the Jesuit College, being gradu- 
ated there in 1879. He came to Sioux City 
in January, 1898, to accept the pastorate of 
St. John the Baptist chiirch, where he has since 
remaincil, doing most effective and earnest 
work. 

During the years 1887-8 the project of bnilrl- 







^/L (Jr/ -^U^o^ LJU^ 



PAST AXD PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



ing a church for the French (Jatholics was fre- 
quently under discussion. It was not until the 
year 1889 that Bishop Hennessy was asked if 
he would send a French priest to Sioux City 
if a church Avas provided. He readily con- 
sented to do so, and accordingly arrangements 
were made to ci'ect the church at once. The 
property on which the church and house now 
stands had been purchased in 1888 of George 
Kingsnorth for fifty-five hundred dollars by a 
committee of iDrominent French Catholics, com- 
posed of X. Desparois, F. Babue and P. Delier. 
The church was erected in 1889 at the cost 
of twenty-five hundred dollars. Alaout a year 
later the parochial residence was built at the 
cost of fifteen hundred dollars. 

When the church was completed Bislioji Hen- 
nessy assigned Father M. C. Sullivan to the 
parish until he was able to procure a French 
priest. After the lapse of about a year Rev. 
Alfred Le Brun was appointed to succeed 
Father Sullivan. The administration of Fath- 
er Le Brun was of short duration. He was 
followed by Father L. P. Paquin, who remained 
for about three years. After Father Paquin 
came the Rev. J. O. LaChapelle ; Father D. R. 
Guenard and Rev. L. O. Tremblay succeeded 
in the order named. The first two named re- 
mained but a shiirr time. Father Trembla}' 
officiated for nearly two years. In January, 
1S9S, the present pastor, Rev. L. P. Dagnaiilt, 
took charge of the ]iarisli. He ])roceeded at 
iince to place liimself in tnucli with the mem- 
bei's of his i^arish and bring about that 'har- 
mony between the priest and the people which 
I is so essential to tlie well being of a parish. 
He also set alxiut inaugurating the necessary 
I imjirovements and repairs. Since he took 
j charge he has had some mucli needed repairs 
I d(ine on tlie church liuihlini;- ami jjastor's resi- 
i deuce. A heating plant lias lieen installed in 
I the church; the church l)uil<ling has been paint- 
ed, as has also the house, a fence has been built 
about the property, and many other smaller nec- 
{ essarv details attended to. All lines of cluirch 



work have been carried on in a most progres- 
sive manner and excellent results have been ac- 
complished. Father Dagnault is a man of 
most scholarly attainments and while his work 
has resulted greatly to the benefit of the church 
he has also won the respect and good will of 
the residents of Sioux City. 



GEORGE M. KELLOGG. 

George ^M. Kellogg, superintendent of the fire 
department of Sioux City, Iowa, is well qual- 
ified for the important position that he is now 
filling. He has held the position continuously 
since 1888, w-ith the exception of one year, and 
during his administration the department has 
developed to extensive proportions and along 
progressive lines that place it in the foremost 
rank as a model department of the country. 
^Ir. Kellogg has labored untiringly to advance 
its upbuilding and efficiency and deserves great 
credit for what he has accomplished in this di- 
rection. 

A native of Iowa, he was born near the city 
of Dubuque, January 28, 1861. His father, 
George W. Kellogg, was born in Oberlin, Ohio, 
and has for many years resided in the west, 
having come to Sioux City in 1864. Here he 
is now living at the age of sixty-eight years 
and is engaged in the practice of law. While 
residing in Dakota he served as a memlier of 
the territorial legislature for three terms, was 
also justice of the peace and was territorial 
auditor for one term. His wife, who bore the 
maiden name of Sarah E. McMillan, was born 
in Iowa and died in 1882 at the age of thirty 
years in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, I if which she was a consistent member. 
They were the parents of six children : George 
]\L ; Frank E., who is captain of hose company 
Xo. 2, of Sioux City; Perry, deceased; Otis 
J., who has l)cen a conductcu- on the street rail- 
way of Sioux r'ity for twelve years ; Moses K., 



90 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



deceased; and Lucy E., who died at the age uf 
three years. 

George M. Kellogg acquired his edticatiou in 
the public schools of South Dakota and after 
putting aside his text-books he worked at any 
occupation that he could secure which would 
yield him an honest living. At different times 
he was engaged in farming, in rafting on the 
river and in teaming. Tn ISS-l he came to 
Sioux City, where he entered the employ of 
Davis & Wann, grain and implement dealers, 
with which firm he continued for three years. 
On the expiration of that period he entered 
the service of the Oberne & Hosick ('iini])auy, 
dealers in hides, tallow and fur, becoming buy- 
er and assistant bookkeeper, and eventually he 
went upon the road for that firm. He repre- 
sented it in this way for two years, after which 
he returned to Davis dt Company as foreman 
of their house, acting in that capacity for three 
years. In 1885 he entered the employ of the 
Sioux City Street Railway Company as fore- 
man of its barns and not long afterward ac- 
cepted the position of shipper and keeper of 
the stock books with the Standard Oil Com- 
pany. In 1888 he was ajjpointed by the city 
council chief of the Sioux City Fire Depart- 
ment and with the exception of the year 1893 
he has liehl the office continuously since, being 
the incumbent at this writing. In this time 
he has had a varied experience and his efforts 
have been largely effective in promoting the 
efficiency of the department and in raising its 
standard of excellence. In his service every en- 
gine house in the city has been built with the 
exception of ISo. 1, most of the apparatus has 
been jiurchased by him, and under his direc- 
tion the fire depai'tment has been trained and 
prepared for the important and responsible 
work which devolves upon it. 

In 1887 occurred the marriage of Mr. Kel- 
logg and !Miss Mary E. Jackson, a daughter of 
Henry and Elizabeth (McKenna) .Taekson. 
She was liorn in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 
186.5. and bv her marriage has become the 



mntiier of one son, George M. Kellogg Jr., 
whose birth occurred in Sioux City in 1886 
and wlio is now a student in the high school. 
Mr. Kellogg gives his political allegiance to 
the Democracj' and is a member of various fra- 
ternal organizations, including the Masonic 
lodge, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, 
the Ii)dei5endent Order of Odd Eellows, the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Mod- 
ern Woodmen of America, the Yeomans and 
the Knights and Ladies of the Golden Precej^t. 
He is well known as a representative of fire 
de]iartment interests throughout the state and 
is now vice-president of the International As- 
sociation of Fire Engineers and vice-president 
of the Iowa State Fire Association. In Sioux 
City he is well known and has the confidence 
and good will of the public because of his 
allegiance to his duty and because of the pos- 
session of many sterling personal traits of 
character. 



C. SHEXKBERG. 



( '. Shenkljcrg, controlling one of the most 
extensive bnsiiiess enterprises of Sioux City 
and influencing trade relations in no small de- 
gree by his enterprise and business sagacity, 
was born in Oldenburg, Germany, February 3, 
1835, his father being Ferdinand Shenkberg. 
He spent the first nineteen years of his life 
in his native country and arrived in America 
in 1854, leaving Bremen on a sailing vessel, 
which after forty-eight days reached the har- 
bor of Xew York. Locating in Brooklyn he 
was emjiloyed as a clerk in a grocery store, 
working for six dollars per month. He spent 
two years there and on the expiration of that 
period removed to Harrietsville, Ohio, where 
he was employed in a country grocery store for 
two years. The owner of the store then said 
he could not afford to pay Mr. Shenkberg and 
promised half of the return profits of his to- 
bacco crop. On this he made two thousand del- 




^ €^!A-«^?-w^^eV^ 



I'AST AXIt IM.'KSKX'I' OF WOODIUJRY COUNTY 



93 



lars. He iil'lcrwanl rciiinvcd td Maricll:!, ()lii(», 
where lie started a wholesale grocery l)iisiiiess. 
Mr. Sheiikberg remained in Ohio for twenty- 
five years and thence came to Sioux City, Iowa, 
in 1SS2. In the meantime he had prospered in 
his undertaking, carrying forward to successful 
coraj^letion the various business interests which 
claimed his attention. With good capital he 
then remo\'ed to northwestern Iowa and brought 
with him twenty-two carloads of groceries. 
Here he established a wholesale grocery house, 
of which he is still the head, the firm name be- 
ing now the C. Shenkberg Company. In 1892 
he erected a fine business block six stories in 
hciiiht and liascnieiit. The structure is of l)rick 
and stone and there are seven floors each one 
humlred by one hundred and fifty feet. The 
adjoining building, three floors and basement, 
is occupied b}^ the firm as a cofFee roasting house 
and warehouse. This large building fully oc- 
ou|iied by the grocery stock is indicative of 
tlie volume of trade enjoyed by the company, 
showing in large measure the business enter- 
prise and very desirable success which Mr. 
Shenkberg has achieved. He is also the lead- 
ing partner in the Iowa Candy Company. In 
the wholesale grocery a capital of four hundred 
thousand dollars has been in\-ested. 

While residing in Ohio Mr. Shenkl)erg was 
united in marriage in 18()2 to Lydia J. Xep- 
tune. and nnto them were born three children, 
of wlidiii only one is now living, Franz, wlio 
is manager of his father's business. The wife 
and mother died in 1872. In 1874 Mr. Shenk- 
berg was again married, his second union l)eing 
with Alma Ogle and they now have one daugh- 
ter, Xellie, who is the wife of J. H. Feather- 
stone, a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, 
and by this marriage there is a daughter, Louise 
Featberstone. 

In his jiolitical views Mr. Shenkberg is a 
Republican, but has steadily refused to accept 
oflice, preferring to devote his attention to his 
extensive liusiness interests. His aflairs are 
conducted with diligence, guided liv sound 



jiiilginent. He is accurate in liis estimate of a 
business proposition and its possibilities, is sa- 
gacious and far-sighted, and through close con- 
formity to the ethics of commercial life he has 
won the confidence of the business world as 
well as a liberal ])ulilic ]iatronage. 



Wll.l.lA.M K. Sll.WV. 

William K. Shaw, who was a factor in the 
business life of Sioux ( 'ity for many years and 
for six years prioi' to iiis death represented the 
real estate interi'sis of Woodbury county, was 
liorn in Watertowu, New Voi'k. His father 
dicil when lie w:is lint sc\-en years of age and 
Ih' was rcar<Ml by liis grandiiiol hei- in his nativt 
city, attending the |)nblic scIkjoIs. His father 
at one time had been |iro|iricior of a sanitarium 
at Cromwell, C/onnecticMii, ami when William 
K. Shaw attained bis ma jnrily he went lo Crom- 
ucll ami tliere engaged in llic di'iig business, 
cnmlucting his st(jre for se\eral years. Subse- 
(pienlly he went to Xorwich, Connecticut, where 
be again openeil a drug store ami when he dis- 
|)osed of his interest in lliat line be look charge 
of I be Wanregan H()use there — a hotel, of 
which he was ]iro]irietor for a short time. Sub- 
secpic'iilly he purchased two woolen mills in 
.\iirwicli ami engaged in niannfaci uring there 
for a lew years. He next became jiroprietor 
(if I he Koi-l (!risw<il(l iiouse, a snnill hotel, 
which he conducled witli success until 1889, 
when he sold out and came lo the west, settling 
in Sioux City. Here he established a restau- 
i-ant and also conducted a retail li(pior business, 
pri(ir lo ihe time that lie began dealing in pat- 
ent nieiliciiies. i)ni'ing ibis entire ])eriod he 
was also inx'esling his nmney in real estate and 
in 1897 he ga\e n|i all other lines of business 
and devoted his entire lime ami attention to 
real estate opei-at inn^, cai-i'ving these on ex- 
tensively up 111 the tin f his death, which 

uccni'i'cd January 14, liml. 

Mr. Shaw was married in the east to Miss 



94 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



Dimock auJ the chilJreu of the family are 
Ethel, Florence, Madonna and Kent, all of 
whom reside at home. ilr. Shaw took little in- 
terest in politics and held no political posi- 
tions, hut devoted his entire time and atten- 
tion to his business affairs, in which he was 
very successful. At the time of his death he 
owned twenty-five houses in Sioux City and 
these bring to ]\Irs. Shaw a large rental, plac- 
ing her in very comfortable financial circum- 
stances. Mr. Shaw was well kno-^vn among the 
business men of Sioux City and gained many 
friends here. Mrs. Shaw now owns a nice 
home at 91.5 West Fourteenth street occupied 
bv herself and faniilv. 



AGNES EICHELBERGEE, M. D. 

Dr. Agnes Eiehelberger, who in the practice 
of medicine in Sioux City is making a specialty 
of obstetrics and diseases of children, was born 
in Lewiston, Illinois, May 28, 1864, a daughter 
of ilartin and Isabelle G. (Johnson) Eiehel- 
berger. Her father was a merchant and spent 
the latter years of his life in retirement from 
business cares. At one time he served as post- 
master of Lewiston, Illinois. He died in 1886, 
when about sixty-three years of age, his birth 
having occurred in 1823. His widow still sur- 
vives at the age of eighty-three years and makes 
her home with Dr. Eiehelberger. The other 
members of the family are as follows : Edwin 
E. is engaged in the insurance business in Lew- 
iston, Illinois, and is married and has four 
children, one of whom is the wife of W. D. 
Palmer, a wholesale fruit dealer of Sioux City. 
Jvdia is the wife of W. J. Dyckes, a lawyer of 
Lewiston, Illinois, and they have two children. 
Irene is the wife of A. L. Howes, a traveling 
man residing in Peoria, Illinois, and they have 
two children. 

After attending the public schools Dr. Eieh- 
elberger became a student in Ilartman College 
and also spent two vear.s in Oberlin College, 



leaving that institution to enter the Northwest- 
ern University at Chicago, where she was grad- 
uated on the completion of a course in medi- 
cine, with the class of 1888. She was after- 
ward splendidly qualified for the private prac- 
tice of medicine by eighteen months' experience 
in hosj)ital service, and in 1890 she came to 
Sioux City, where she opened an office. Here 
she has since engaged in general practice, mak- 
ing a specialty of children's diseases, and in 
that branch of her work has been particularly 
successful. She spent two summers in study in 
Europe — in 1899 and 1902 — attending clinics 
in London, Paris and Berlin, and her study 
abroad added largely to her knowledge and her 
efficiency in practice. 

Dr. Eiehelberger belongs to the Woodliury 
Cotinty Medical Society, the Sioux Valley ^led- 
ical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society 
and the American Medical Association. She is 
physician in charge of the Florence Crittenden 
Home and is on the staff of the Samaritan Hos- 
pital and the Training School for Nttrses, and 
is lecturing on obstetrics and children's diseases. 
She is examiner for the Yotmg Women's Chris- 
tian Association and is second vice-president of 
the Association of Charities of Sioux City. 
Added to her love of scientific research and her 
deep interest in her profession is her strong 
humanitarian sjiirit and true womanly sym- 
pathy, and these qualities make her presence 
most acceptable in the sickroom. 



\villia:\i r. de witt. 

William R. De Wirr, who is living on secliou 
22, liutland townsliiji, was born in Jones coun- 
ty, Iowa, August oO, 1S(1(\ His paternal 
grandfather, John De Witt, was reared in Xew 
Jersey, and the father, Isaac De Witt, was 
born in that state in ISl-']. The latter also 
spent the days of his boyhood and youth there, 
was accorded good school privileges and became 
a teiiclicr, following that profession for a nnm- 




DR. AGXES EICHELBERGEE. 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



97 



ber of years. He also qualified fur civil engi- 
ucering and did siirvey work in .Miinu'sota and 
Wisconsin for a nnraber of winters. In Oliio 
he was married to Elizabeth Longshore, a na- 
tive of that state, born near Colmnbns, and 
a daughter of Esquire Longshore, one of the 
early settlers of Ohio. Mr. De Witt took up 
his abode at Dubuque, Iowa, during the period 
of its early development and worked in the 
mines there. He afterward made a trip to 
California by way of the isthmus route, in 
IS-iO, and S2:)ent two years in the mines on the 
Pacific coast, being fairly successful in his 
search for the precious metal there. He re- 
turned by the same route in 1851 and after- 
ward purchased land in Jones county, talcing 
up his abode thereon. It was subsequent to 
this time that he returned to Ohio and was 
married. He had opened up his farm and 
owned several hundreil acres of prairie and 
tind)er land. T'pen this place he reared his 
family and he is still living there at the ad- 
vanced age of ninety-one years. His wife has 
reached the age of seventy years and both are 
yet enjoying good health. He has been iden- 
tified with pioneer development in several states, 
has an intimate knowledge gained from per- 
sonal experience with the conditions which ex- 
isted in the early raining days in Oalifornia 
and has borne his full share in the work of 
development and jn-ogress in his part of the 
state of Iowa. In the family were six sons 
and two daughters: Mrs. Melvina Griswold, 
who is now a widow; William I\., of this re- 
view; George, who is living in Sioux ("ity; 
James, of Wyoming; Alice, the wife of J. ]\r. 
Davis, editor of the Logan Gazette of Harri- 
son county ; Albert, of Woodbury county ; Clin- 
J ton, of Nebraska ; and Fred, who is engaged 
I in the hardware business in .Tones eountv, Iowa. 
I William R. De Witt was reared to manhood 
I in Jones county on the old homestead farm, 
which his father improved and developed there. 
, He attended the common schools and when not 
engaged with the duties of the schoolroom 



worked in the fields and gained broad practical 
experience concerning farm methods. In 1884 
he came lo Woodbury county and settled upon 
a tract of raw land, which he has transformed 
into his present fine farm. Acre after acre he 
placed under the plow, i)l anted the seed and 
in due time gathered abundant harvests. This 
place he has also improved with modern build- 
ings and there now stands upon his farm a 
large neat residence, two good barns, sheds for 
the shelter of grain and stock, and in fact all 
modern accessories. The place is divided into 
fields of convenient size by well kept fences, 
while an orchard and shade and ornamental 
trees add to the value and attractive appear- 
ance of this now desirable property. Xeatness 
and thrift characterize the farm in all of its 
departments and indicate the careful supervi- 
sion of a progressive owner. 

Mr. De Witt was married in Sioux City on 
the 27th of September, 1892, the lady of his 
choice being Miss Sarah Orr, a native of Jones 
county, reared and educated there. She is a 
sister of Mrs. W. R. Duncanson of this county. 
There are two children of this marriage, Stella 
and Virgil. Politically Mr. De Witt is a Dem- 
ocrat whose belief in the principles of the party 
is indicated by the ballot which he ever de- 
posits in support of this county. He is always 
interested in every measure calculated to im- 
prove the county and promote its material prog- 
ress and while he is never remiss in the duties 
of citizenship he yet gives the greater part of 
his time and attention to his farm work and 
has led an active, useful and honorable life. 



CHARLES K. SMITH. 

Charles K. Smith, deceased, whose life rec- 
ord is inseparably interwoven with the early 
history of Sioux City, took a very active part 
in the development and u]ibuildiiig of Woe 1- 
liury county and especially of the city during 
tlie earlv period of its progress. He was born 



98 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



in St. Johns, New York, February 12, 1835. 
His father, Moses M. Smith, married a Miss 
Clock and they resided in the Empire state. 
Their son Charles Avas educated in the schools 
of Gouverneur, l^ew York, and when nineteen 
years of age he entered upon his business ca- 
reer as a salesman in the employ of Elwanger 
& Barry, at Rochester, New York. The west, 
however, attracted him and in 1S56 he made 
his way to Sioux City. He then went to Nio- 
brara, Nebraska, and held the town site that 
winter. In the spring of 1857 he was ap- 
pointed postmaster of Sioux City and occupied 
the fii'st postoffice here, succeeding C. K. Cook. 
Hitherto the mail had been distributed fi-om 
a store or place otherwise than a regular post- 
office. Mr. Smith was also the first stage agent 
and first express agent and he had a stock of 
hardware and tinware. After his retirement 
from the postoffice on the close of President Bu- 
chanan's administration he engaged in the hard- 
ware trade. In 1870 he built the St. Elmo Ho- 
tel, which he conducted for three years and then 
sold out. He afterward engaged in farming 
for one year and then removed to Merrill, where 
he purchased grain for three years and conduct- 
ed a general store. He next resided at Lemars, 
where he engaged in general merchandising for 
three years and on his return to Sioux City he 
began traveling for William T. Allen, of Chi- 
cago. Two years later he established a grocery 
store, which he conducted for two years and 
was then state oil inspector under Inspector 
Dunn. His next positimi w:is that of desk 
sergeant at the ])o]ice station and he continued 
to act in that capacity uji to the time of his 
death, which occurred Fel)i'uary 22, 1901, when 
he was sixty-six years of age. 

Mr. Smith was married on the 20th of July, 
1860, to :\riss Ann M. Gill, a daughter of John 
and Abigail rTviml)lc) Gill, of New York. 
They have tliree cliildrcii : Lizzie, the wife 
of G. B. Healey, of Sioux City ; Fred C, with 
whom Mrs. Smith now makes her home; and 
Frank G. ^Ir. Smith was a member of the 



Unitarian church and also the Masonic fra- 
ternity. He always gave his political allegi- 
ance to the Democratic party and he held some 
of the city offices, being called to positions of 
public trust by his fellow townsmen who recog- 
nized his deep interest in public affaii's and 
his loyalty to the general good. lie was mayor 
of Sio.ux City in the earlier days and has also 
been county treasurer. Everything that per- 
tained to the advancement of community in- 
terests elicited his attention and usually re- 
ceived his stalwart support and co-operation. 
He was extremely familiar with the history of 
Sioux City from the days of its early growth 
down to the period of later progress and pros- 
perity, and was justly numbered among its 
honored pioneer residents. 



Wir.LIAM GORDON. 

William (iovclon, a capitalist of Sioux ('ity, 
whose real estate operations, more extensive 
tlian those of any other resident here, have con- 
tributed in large measure to the upbuilding and 
progress of the city, was born at Enniskillen, 
County Fermanagh, Ireland, !May 21, 18.")7. 
His pai-ents were Thomas and Elizabeth 
(Parke) Gordon, also natives of County 
Fermanagh, but lioth were representatives of 
old families of Scotland, whence they emigrated 
to the Emerald isle about the close of the sev- 
enteenth century to settle upon grants of land 
nuide to tlicni by Oliver Cromwell in return for 
military scrviro rendered him. William Gor- 
don, the nr,.;it-grandfather, was born in Ireland 
and was an intimate friend of John Wesley, one 
of tlic founders of Methodism. 

Reared in his native country, William Gor- 
don ot tliis review was educated in the National 
.Model Sciiool and in the Portora Royal School. 
Wiii'U fourteen years of age he went to Belfast, 
where he was employed in the office of William 
Gregg (t Son, extensive iron merchants. He 
afterward sjient one year in Liverpool, em- 



I'AST Ai\D PEESENT OF ^YUUi)BUl!Y COUXTY 



101 



jjluyed ill a large Ituililiiig material establisli- 
ment, that uf William Dawbarn & Sons, and 
later went to London as the representative of 
that house, there remaining for three and a half 
years, during which time he was advanced rap- 
idly by the firm, his cajjability and merit thus 
tinding ready recognition. In March, 1S82, 
he landed at New York, on his way to Australia, 
but after spending some time in the eastern 
metropolis and also traveling through the south, 
he decided to remain in America and aban- 
doned his project of going to Australia. For a 
year he was in Xew York city, and on the •2[>th 
of March, ISS-'i, he arrived in Sioux City. 

ilr. Gordon was hrst employed here as a 
bookkeeper by the firm of IJavis & Wann, grain 
merchants, and snbseqiiently assisted W. P. 
Manley in organizing the Security Xational 
Bank, while later he took charge of the books 
of F. H. Peavey & Company, grain buyers of 
Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the sjDring of 1885 
he returned to Sioux City, where he was en- 
gaged in the insurance and real estate, and two 
years later he again turned his attention tu the 
real estate business on his OAvn account, having 
begun operations along that line in 1883 in 
Galbraith's second addition to the city, and is 
to-day the largest dealer in Sioux City. There 
is no man perhaj^s who takes as active a part 
in the development and improvement of a town 
or city as does the real estate operator, who has 
opportunity to promote growth by securing 
important industrial or commercial interests, 
and by inducing a desirable class of citizens to 
locate in the district where he is operating. 
Aside from his business Mr. Gordon has mani- 
fested a most active interest in the progress and 
prosperity of Sioux City and feels just pride 
in what has been accomplished here, for at the 
time of his arrival in 1883 the city contained 
only about seven thousand inhabitants. He has 
been identified with many enterprises, the bene- 
ficial effect of which has been far reaching. 
During the panic of 1893 his undertakings met 
with disastrous result, but he has pei'severed 



and with renewed courage has set to work to re- 
trieve his lost possession, and gradually he has 
l^rogressed until to-da}' he is numl)ered among 
the capitalists of Woodbury county. 

j\lr. Gordon married Stella Davis, the eldest 
daughter of Samuel T. Davis, of Sioux City, 
on the -Ith of June, 1884:, and their children are 
Elizabeth, Jeanne, W^illiam Davis and Mar- 
garet. The family is well known in the city 
in which ]\lr. Gordon has sfjent the greater part 
of his time during tbe period of his residence in 
America, finding in the growing west the cov- 
eted opportunities for business advancement 
and success that drew him to the new world, and 
wliiU' laboring for his own piMsperity, be has 
at the same time through his business activity 
contributed in large and substantial measure 
to the welfare and ujilmilding of the city. 



MES. WHITFIELD STINSOX. 

]\Irs. Whitfield Stinson was born May 23, 
1840, ill Erie county, Pennsylvania, and bore 
the maiden name of Rosaline Vincent, her 
parents being James and Mary (ilitchell) Vin- 
cent, in whose family were four children. She 
acquired her early education in the Waterford 
Academy at W^att'rford, Pennsylvania, but 
afterward engaged in teaching school for six 
years. While still in Pennsylvania she gave 
her hand in marriage in 1873 to Whitfield Stin- 
son, who is now the manager of the Toy Block, 
of Sioux City, and Avho Avas formerly engaged 
in the coal biisiness here, following that pur- 
suit until 1893. In 1875 the Women's Chris- 
tian Association of Sioux City was established 
and "'Mrs. Stinson has since been identified 
therewith. It was in 1884 that this associa- 
tion decided to establish the Samaritan Hospi- 
tal and this work was successfully carried on 
until the institution was opened to the public 
on the 11th of December, of that year. Its 
board of directors is composed of a number of 
the leading ladies of Sioux Citv. For seven- 



\u■^ 



PAST AXl) ri.'HSENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



teen years Mrs. Stinson has been treasurer and 
in 1901 was made superintendent of the in- 
stitution. She is a nienil)er of the Episcopal 
church and the true spirit i)f Christianity is 
nianifestcil in her lieliiful attitude to others, 
esjjecially to the ])iMir anil nrcdy. 



PROFESSOR E. A. BROWX. 

Tliere is no niu- facfur which sn chiscly 
touches the general interests of society as does 
the p^iblie schools. It affects every household 
and has direct bearing upon the progress of 
the nation and the upbuilding of its political 
and moral status and it is a noticeable fact that 
greater efficiency is more and more denuiuded 
of tluise wild undertake the iiii|)iirtant work 
of instructing the voting and pi'e[)aring tliciii 
for the responsible dtities which are to follnw 
in after life. The confidence which the citizens 
of Woodbury county repose in Professor E. A. 
Brown is indicated by the fact that for live 
terras they have elected him as county superin- 
tendent of schools and this is also indicative 
of his faithfulness and capability in ofJice. Un- 
der his guidance the schools of the county have 
made rapid, substantial and satisfactory prog- 
ress and the people of nin-thwestern Iowa have 
every reason to be proud of the advantages for 
]nilili(' educatimi which they atl'ord to the youth 
of the locality. 

Professor Brown is a native nf Indiana, his 
birth having occuri-ed in [Monrovia, ]\[organ 
county, in August. IS. 5 7. lie is a descendant 
of an old Virginian family, liis parents having 
emigrated from the Old Dominiim tn Kentucky 
and subsequently to Indiana, where they located 
in the early jiart of the nineteenth century. 
His grandparents, however, were slaveholders 
of Kentucky, but on removing to a nortlun-n 
state they liberated their bondsmen. 

Professor Brown's life work nmy be said to 
have begun in his fifth year when he entered the 
rural schools as he has been connected with in- 



stitutions of public instruction ever since that 
time either as pujul, teacher or superintendent. 
After a few years sjjcnt in the nuistery of com- 
mon branches of learning in a district school he 
was gi\rn the advantage of instruction in a 
graded school in a town and later of an academic 
course, and when seventeen years of age c(tm- 
pleted his academic stu<lii's by graduation. In 
the meantime his parents bail ilieil anil he was 
lluis thrown u|ion liis own resources. After 
li'aving the aradcniy he spent a few years in 
teaching in the country schools in order to 
obtain the means with which to pursue a col- 
lege course and when he had sufficient capital 
he entered DePaxiw University of Indiana in 
ISsl and was graduated on the comjiletiou of 
the j)hilosophical course with the class of June, 
1SS4. Ilis taste and talents have ever been in 
dii'cction of educational work and at no time 
lias he given his atirntion and energies to other 
departments of labor. After six years spent as 
princi])al of ])ul)lic schools at Sergeants Bluff, 
Iowa, he was elected to the chair of mathematics 
in the University of the Xm-thwest, now 
known as Morningside College. He has spent 
the last fourteen yeai-s as teacher in that insti- 
tution and as county superintendent and in 
January, I'JOf, he entered upon his fifth term 
as superintendent of the schools of Woodbury 
county, to which he has been elected at five con- 
secutive elections upon the Republican ticket. 
In April, 1885, Professor Bro\\m was mar- 
ried to ^Fiss Metta Mullinix, a student of the 
State University of Indiana, at Bloomington. 
With his family, numbering his wife and four 
sons, he now resides at Morningside, Sioux 
C'itv, where thev have lived for fourteen vears. 



E. L. CRAIN". 



E. L. Crain, who is living a retired life in 
Cushing, was for a long period closely asso- 
ciated with agricultural interests in Johnson 
and Louisa counties. For more than a half 




E. A. BROWN. 



PAST AND PRESENT OP WOODBURY COUNTY 



105 



(•t'liturv lie has been a rosidciit of tliis state, has 
aided in recLiiniiiig its wihl hinds for the pur- 
poses of civilization, and throngh his activity, 
enterprise and progressive farm labors he ac- 
cnnmlated the competence that now enaliles him 
to live retired. ]\[r. Grain was born in Fay- 
ette county, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of Xo- 
vemlier, 1835. His father, A. L. C'rain, was 
a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was 
of Irish 25arentage and ancestry, the family hav- 
ing been established in the Keystone state at 
an early day. A. L. Crain served as a soldier 
on the northern frontier during the war of 1S12. 
He was nnirried in Fayette county, Pennsyl- 
vania, to ]\riss Sarah Gaddis, a native of that 
county, and in the Keystone state he followed 
merchandising for a number of years, while 
about 1850 he removed to Iowa, settling in 
Johnson cotinty. He carried on the dry-goods 
business at Solon for abont seven or eight years 
and then disposed of his store, removing to a 
farm which he continued to cultivate for a simi- 
lar period. He next took up his abode in Wa- 
pello, Iowa, where he engaged in merchandis- 
ing imtil 18G5. His wife died prior to the 
Civil war. 

E. L. Grain was reared to manhood in John- 
son and Louisa counties and in his youth as- 
sisted his father in the store. He pnrsiied his 
education in the common schools and in the 
high school at lo^va Gity, Iowa, and under his 
father's direction received practical business 
training. In 18G2 he offered his services to 
the government and joined the boys in blue 
of Gompany G, Twenty-second Iowa Infantry, 
with which he went south to Mississippi. 
There he participated in the battles of Port 
Gibson, Ghampion Hills, Black River, Jackson, 
the siege of Yicksburg, the second battle of 
Jackson and the engagement at Winchester, 
where only three Iowa regiments took part. 
He was also in the battles of Fisher Hill and 
Gedar Greek. After the expiration of his first 
term of enlistment he ^-eteranized and was hon- 
oralily discharged in Baltimore, with the rank 



of second sergeant, at the close of the war. 
On the 9th of July, 1865, he was mustered out 
and rettirned to his home with a very credit- 
able military record. He had been a ti'ue and 
loyal soldier, never faltering in his allegiance 
to the old flag or hesitating in the performance 
of any duty which was assigned to him and 
which was a part of the great sum total of 
effort that resulted in the preservation of the 
Union. 

Again coming to I<iwa when the country no 
longer needed his services Mr. Grain turned his 
attention to farming in Johnson coimty. There 
he secured a tract of land which he opened 
up and developed, carrying on farming with 
success at that place for several years. He 
afterwai'd bought another farm near Iowa City 
and made it his home until about 1900, when 
he left the place and purchased residence prop- 
erty in Gushing, where he now makes his home. 
Throughout the greater part of his business 
career his attention and energies were directed 
to agricultural pursiiits and he placed his farm 
under a very high state of cultivation, made 
excellent improvements thereon and as the years 
passed enjoyed a good income as the result of 
his labors. 

Mr. Grain was married iu I)es Moines coun- 
ty, September 3, 1861, to Miss Mary A. Mann, 
a native of Pennsylvania, who in childhood days 
removed to Ohio. In 1850 she became a resi- 
dent of Iowa, living in Des IMoines county and 
in Wapello. She was largely educated in this 
state, attending school in Blount Pleasant. Sev- 
en children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Grain : Fannie, now the wife nf Charles I. 
ililler, of Galva, Iowa ; William L.. a promi- 
nent business man of Gushing; Lewis, a den- 
tist of Gorrectionville, Iowa ; iN'ellie, the wife 
of Arthur Wescott, of Wichita, Kansas ; Harry 
A. ; Ada, the wife of James ilcGuire, a life 
insurance agent; and Winnie, who died at the 
age of fourteen years. 

Politically IsLr. Grain has been a life-long 
Republican but the honors and emoluments of 



lOU 



PAST A\l) I'lJHSKXT OF WOOJ/BUl.'Y COUNTY 



office have had no attraction for liim, as hf has 
preferi'ed to give his attention to his t'ariiiinir 
and business interests. His wife is a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church and active 
in its auxiliary societies. Mr. Crain belongs 
to the Grand Army Post at loAva City and has 
served as vice commander. For fifty-six years 
he has remained a resident of this state and 
has therefore been a witness tif its wonderful 
growth and development as it has emerged from 
pioneer conditions to take its place among the 
great commonwealths of the coTintry. He has 
seen cities and towns built, the prairie broke 
and fenced, the farms cultivated and the woi-k 
of improvement carried steadily forward, and 
in the comnmnities where he has resided he has 
borne his full share in its progress and im- 
provement. 



FREDERIC 'Tv E. FRAX( HERE, M. 1). 

Dr. Frederick E. Franchere, who, iu the 
practice of medicine, makes a specialty of nerv- 
OTis diseases and of diseases of the eye and ear, 
was l)orn in San .Tiian, California, July 1-1, 
18(>(i. He is a grandson of Gabriel Franchere, 
who was an explorer of note, whose testimony 
before the United States senate was of material 
assistance to Senator Thomas H. Benton in set- 
tling the boundary controversy between the 
United States and Canada. His work entitled 
"A Voyage to the i^orthwest Coast of America" 
was largely used as a soxirce of information by 
Washington Irving in jjreparing his "Astoria." 
Dr. Franchere's i)arents Avere Everieste and 
Martha M. (Cross) Francliere. The father re- 
moved from Canada to the Ignited States, and, 
entering the navy, was associated with Lieuten- 
ant Gunnison in his survey of the Great Lakes. 
He afterward left the navy and entered the 
merchantman's service and in 1849 he went to 
California, where he engaged in mining. He 
also conducted a drug biisiness and met with 
success in his business operations in the far 
west. On account of his health, however, he 



reniiivt'd to .Minncsufa in ISCii) and his death 
occurrc(l in that state in 1S',I4. His widow still 
survives and is now making lier home witli her 
son Dr. Franchere. 

Dr. Franchere attended the public schools of 
Minnesota and also the State Xormal school at 
Mankato and the State University at IMinne- 
apolis, being graduated frmn tlie medical de- 
partment of the latter instifutinn in IS'.MI at the 
age of twenty-four years. He was president of 
his class and while in college took a prominent 
part in athletics. After his graduation he spent 
one year in the city hospital and was then ap- 
iwinted on the staff of the hospital for the in- 
sane of ^linnesota, occupying that positicm un- 
til the spring of 1S'.>2. This gave him amjile 
ojjpiirtnnity to study nervous diseases, many 
of which I'esult in insanity, and his hnsjiital 
experience jiroved an excellent training school 
for his later professional labors. He spent the 
summer of 18!)2 in Europe, studying in l.i>n- 
don and Paris, making a s])ecialty of neni'dldgy. 
In the winter of 1892 he located in Sioux C'ity, 
where he has since engaged in the practice of 
his profession, and while to some extent he fol- 
lows general practice, he yet devotes the greater 
jiart iif his time and atfenfiDU to the treatment 
of nervous diseases and of the diseases <if the 
eye and ear. On account of his jiealtli lie went 
ti) St. James, Minnesota, in 1895 and remained 
there until the spring of 1902, when he returned 
to Sionx City and associated himself in ]U'ac- 
tice wifli Dr. tieorge Park. They have since 
conducted a constantly increasing and profitable 
practice and the firm stands high in jndilic re- 
gard as representatives of tlie medical fra- 
ternity of northwestern Iowa. 

Dr. Franchere was uiarricMl in IS'.i.'i to Miss | 
Helen C. Hoyt, of Sioux ('ity, Iowa, a daughter 
of Earl T. Hoyt, who has been engaged in tiie 
newspaper business for many years in connec- 
tion with the Sioux City Journal. They have 
two children : Mabel Catlin, born Decendier 
19, 1897; and Margaret Parrish, born October 
31, 1899. 



PAST AND PKP:SENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



109 



While ill St. James Dr. Fraiieliere was ap- 
pointed surgeon of the Chicago, St. Paul, ^lin- 
neapolis and Omaha Railroad and also of the 
]\rinneapolis & St. Louis Railroad. He held 
the positions of county coroner aud city health 
officer, resigning the railroad appointments in 
1902, ■when he returned to Sioux City, Iowa. 
He was also medical inspector of the public 
schools. After his return to Sioux City he was 
appointed to the chair of nervous diseases in 
the Sioux City College of Medicine and in the 
spring of 1904 he was elected secretary of that 
institution. About the same time he was ap- 
pointed to the chair of clinical ophthalmology 
ill the Sioux City College of ifediciue. Dr. 
Franchcre is a member of the American ifed- 
ical Association, the Sioux Valley Medical 
Society, the Woodbury County Medical So- 
ciety, the Southwest ilinnesota Medical So- 
ciety, the Minnesota Valley Medical Society', 
the Olmsted County Medical Society and the 
Watonwan County (ilinnesota) Medical Soci- 
ety. He is also lecturer to the Training School 
for Xurses, St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital 
and in the Samaritan Hospital Train- 
ing School for Xurses. He belongs to 
Bethel lodge, Xo. 103, A. F. & A. :\r., 
in Minnesota, and also to the Royal Arcanum, 
while his political allegiance is given unfalter- 
ingly to the Republican part}'. He has no time 
or inclination, however, to seek office, preferring 
to give his undivided attention to his practice, 
which is constantly growing in volume and im- 
portance. With a nature that could never be 
content with mediocrity, he has steadilv ad- 
vanced until he has left the many and stands 
among tlie successful few, having gained recog- 
nition in the practice as one of its ablest repre- 
sentatives, while the public attests its confidence 
by a lilieral jiatronage. 



J. o. jer:\iax. 

Xorthwestern Io-\va largely owes its prosper- 
ity, development and upbuilding to its agricul- 
tural class, and prominent among the leading 



and enterprising farmers and stock-raisers of 
Woodbury county is numbered J. O. Jerman, 
who owns and operates the Valley farm, a well 
improved property comprising nearly one thou- 
sand acres. His life history indicates what can 
be accomplished through determined purpose 
and honorable effort in a country where recog- 
nition is accorded ability, and where success 
follows persistent labor. Iowa would certainly 
have reason to be proud of her native sons it 
all manifested the sterling qualities which mark 
the career of Mr. Jerman, who was born in 
Jackson county, this state, February 6, 1855. 
Oliver Jerman, his father, was a native of 
Canada, born December 23, 1S17, and when a 
young man he removed to Iowa, settling in 
Dubuque, where he was married to Miss Mary 
E. Gothier, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, 
and a daughter of Joseph Gothier, who came to 
Illinois from Canada. Oliver Jerman then 
located in Jackson county about 1840, among 
its early settlers, and engaged in general farm- 
ing. There he reared his family and in 187J5 
he came to Woodbury county, being actively 
identified with the early progress and develop- 
ment of this portion of the state. He died 
January 31, lSS-1, at the age of sixty-seven 
years, and his wife died June 1-4, 1904, when 
seventy-seven years of age. 

J. O. Jerman was reared to manhood in Jas- 
per county, upon his father's farm, where he 
remained until twenty-two years of age, assist- 
ing materially in the development and cultiva- 
tion of the land. He afterward sought a com- 
panion and helpmate for life's journey and was 
married in Jackson county, on the 31st of Jan- 
uary, 1878, to Miss Mary M. Roark, who was 
born in Ohio, but was reared in Iowa. In the 
year jirior to his marriage Mr. Jerman pur- 
chased the land which constituted the nucleus 
of his present fine farm, beginning with one 
hundred and sixty acres. This he began to im- 
prove and develop and later he purchased more 
land, adding to his place from time to time 
until niiw he owns nine hundred and fortv 



110 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOUDBURY COUNTY 



acres, constituting one of the tiuest farming 
properties of nortlnvestern Iowa. He has 
erected five neat residences and three hxrge 
barns Uf)on his land, also commodious outbuild- 
ings and he has all modern improvements, in- 
cluding a wind pump and Avaterworks in order 
to sujjply his stock with water. There is a 
fine natural grove and a good bearing orchard, 
together with a large variety of small fruits. 
In fact the farm is classed as one of the best 
improved proi^erties of the township and in 
connection with the tilling of the soil Mr. Jer- 
man is engaged in the raising, feeding and fat- 
tening of the stock for the city market. His 
business in this direction is very extensive. He 
fattens and ships to the market about ten car- 
loads of cattle annually and his sales reach a 
profitable figure. In addition to his farming 
interests IMr. Jerman is a stockholder and the 
vice-president of the Anthou State Bank and 
was one of its promoters and organizers in the 
year 1890. He has served from the beginning 
as its vice-president and is well known in finan- 
cial circles. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jerman have been born 
six children: Catherine, who is now the Avife 
of J. J. Kourke. a substantial farmer of Wolf 
Creek township ; Oliver, who assists in carry- 
ing (in the home farm; Walter, Lucy, jSTellie 
and ^lyrtle, all at home. 

Politically ]Mr. Jerman is a Democrat who 
has never faltered in his allegiance to the party 
since casting his first presidential ballot for 
Samuel J. Tilden in 1876. He has been called 
to public oifice by his fellow townsmen, who 
recognized his worth and ability. He was se- 
lected and served as townshi]) trustee, has also 
been school treasurer and township clerk and 
was supervisor of the county for three years, 
and in these various positions he has faithfully 
discharged his duties and labors for the in- 
terests of the community. He has been a dele- 
gate to the county and state conventions of 
his party and his opinions carry weight in its 
councils. He and his wife were reared in the 



Cathiilie faith and are n(.)W members of the 
Catholic church at .\ntli(in. Mr. Jerman has 
known im other home than Iowa and throughout 
his entire life has been imbued with the spirit 
of enterprise and pi'ogress, which are so char- 
acteristic of this jDart of the country. For 
twenty-seven years he has lived in Woodbury 
county and has been identified with its devel- 
opment and jirii.'^periry, liel]iing to make it 
what it is to-day. Ilis word is considered as 
good as liis bond for he has lived an upright, 
honorable life, faithfully meeting every obli- 
gation that he has incurred and performing 
every duty that comes to him. He is truly 
a i-ejn-esentative citizen and belongs to that class 
of men of whom the country is justly proud — 
men who recognize opportunity and who labor 
earnestly that success may be theirs. They 
realize that effort is the basis of all prosperity 
and upon this fdundatidU they build their for- 
tunes. 



FRAXK L. FEURIS. 

Frank L. Ferris, who in the ]iractiee of law 
has largely given liis attention to corporate 
and municii)al law, is a native of Ohio, his 
birth having occurred in Chesterville on the 
I'Sth of Deceud)er, ISTjil. In the iiatcrnal line 
the family is of Welsh ancestry and his father. 
Israel E. Ferris, was closely related to the Fer- 
ris, Peck and Phillips families of IvTew York. 
His mother was of Scotch lineage and a direct 
desceiulant of Robert Brtice. 

Reared in Ohio, Frank L. Ferris accjuired 
his early education in the cottntry schools near 
his home, which he attended until about sixteen 
years of age, when he ])ursiu'd a course in the 
high school of Xew Lon<lon. ins parents having 
in the nieantim(> taken u]i their abode in that 
city. Having determined to make the practice 
of law his life \vork subseqtient to the comple- 
tion of his literary education, Mr. Ferris be- 
came a student in the law office of Hon. R. C. 
Powers, of Xew London, Ohio. He followed 
a course of studv similar to that of the law 




F. L. FEERIS. 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



113 



(Ifpartiia'ut of tliu State University of Michi- 
gan at Ann Arbor and was admitted to practice 
by the supreme conrt of Ohio on the 3d 
of May, 1881. lie remained with liis 2)receptor 
mitil 1883 as his associate in practice and then 
took up his abode iu South Dakota. He oj^ened 
an office in Redfield and in 188G he became 
connected with the law department of the Chi- 
cago & Northwestern Railroad Company for 
that state at Hiiron. Two years later he re- 
moveil to Iowa, establishing his home in Sioux 
Cit3' in Ajjril, 1888. Here a constantly grow- 
ing clientage has given evidence of the public 
confidence in his ability and business integrity. 
He is well versed in many departments of juris- 
prudence, but has made a specialty of corporate 
and municipal law. Among the most impor- 
tant cases tried by him were those brought 
against Walter Strange, ex-county supervisor, 
for alleged criminal and illegal transactions 
while in office. Mr. Ferris was leading counsel 
for the defense and tlie first trial of twenty 
days' duration resulted in a disagreement of 
the jury and in a re-trial of ten days tlie de- 
fendant was acquitted. He has also a consid- 
erable practice iu tliis and neighboring states 
upon the question of exaction of license by cities 
and towns from transient merchants and others. 
On the 15th of December, 1887, Mr. Fer- 
ris was united in marriage to Miss Sara Sar- 
gent, of Fayette, Ohio. They now have one 
daughter, Winnifred J., who was born on the 
5th of April, 1890. Both :\Ir. and Mrs. Ferris 
receive high and favorable regard from their 
many friends in Sioux City and he is identi- 
fied with several of the fraternal organizations 
here, belonging to the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, the Woodmen of the World and the 
Knights of Pythias fraternity. He is grand trib- 
une of the last named in Iowa. Community af- 
fairs receive his earnest attention and his hearty 
co-operation is given to many movements which 
have for tlieir object tlic benefit of the city and 
the advancement of its welfare. He is a charter 
member of the Flovil ]\Ionument Association 



and is serving on its hnance committee. In 
politics he is a prominent Rejaublican, recog- 
nized as a leader of his party in northwestern 
Iowa. The questions wdiich are to the Ijusiness 
man and loyal citizen of deep interest elicit his 
earnest consideration, and in as far as they 
effect the governmental policy he has given to 
them his patriotic support or opposed with 
great strength as he has seen fit. He was as- 
sistant secretary of the Republican state con- 
vention iu IS'.Ml ami again in U.MIO, and for 
effective and intelligent work in that capacity 
was highly complimented. In nuitters pertain- 
ing to state legislation he has taken a keen i»- 
tcrest and was largely responsible for the 
passage l)y the twenty-fifth general assembly 
of the law preventing parties from buying 
claims outside the state against railway em- 
jtloyes and sending them here for suit and 
garnishment. Because of his activity and gen- 
eral fitness ]\fr. Ferris has been jDrominently 
mentioned as a candidate for the legislature 
from his county and for other jiolitical honors. 
His scholarly attainments, his statesmanship, 
his reliability and his charming powers of con- 
versation would enable him to fill and grace 
any position. 



S. D. LEGG. 



S. D. Legg, living on section 2, Kedron town- 
ship, is a ]n-osperous farmer and stock-raiser of 
Woodbury county. He owns and operates a 
farm of six hundred and twenty acres of well 
improved and valuable land jDleasantly located 
within a mile and a half of Correctionville. 
He was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, on 
Christmas day of 1857, and is a representa- 
tive of a family of English ancestry that was 
established in Ohio at an early day. His 
father, James ]\I. Legg, was born in Ohio in 
1820, was thei-e reared to manhood and married 
Minerva Harding, also a native of that state. 
In the '40s the father removed to Illinois, be- 
cominff one of the earlv settlers of Kankakee 



114 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



couuty, where he opened a farm and reared 
his family. Subsequent ly he removed to the 
town of Waldrou, where he is now living a 
retired life, at the advanced age of eighty-one 
years. lu his family were seven children, five 
of whom survive : Eliza, the wife of M. A, 
Parker, of Kankakee, Illinois; Dora, the wife 
of L. I). Legg, of Kankakee county, Illinois; 
S. D., of this review; Joseph, who is living in 
Correetiouville and owns a well improved and 
valuable farm; and Grant, who is living in 
Kankakee county. 

S. D. Legg was reared upon the home farm 
in Kaidiakee county and received good educa- 
tional privileges, attending the common schools 
and afterward the high school of Kankakee. He 
was married in the county of his nativity on the 
1st of December, 1S80, to ]\liss Mary Eldridge, 
who was born in that county and was a daughter 
of Joseph Eldridge, one of the early settlers of 
Illinois, who removed to that state from Ver- 
mont. Mr. and Mrs. Legg became the parents 
of five children: Orville, Joseph M., Irma, 
lola and Ida. 

Mr. Legg owned and operated a farm of two 
hundred and seventy acres in Kankakee county, 
Illinois, where he carried on agricultural pur- 
suits until 1001. He then sold that property 
and came t(5 the west, making his way to Kedron 
township, Woodbury county, Iowa, Avhere he 
now resides. Here he has a well improved farm 
of six hundred and twenty acres, and in addi- 
tion to the cultivation of the cereals best 
adapted to soil and climate he has for a num- 
ber of years engaged in the raising, feeding and 
fattening of stock for the market. He sells 
annually from eight to ten carloads of fat hogs 
and cattle and is known as one of the leading 
business men of Kedron towmship. His polit- 
ical allegiance has always been given to the 
Eepublican party where national issues are in- 
volved, and he has served as supervisor of roads 
in Illinois. He is a believer in good schools 
and he has served for thirteen consecutive years 
as school director, as district clerk and as presi- 



dent of the school board. He and his wife are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and Mr. Legg is identified with the Modern 
Woodmen Camp. While he has residcid in 
Wi 1(1(11 in ry county for only a few years he is 
now cldscly identified with its interests and is 
accountecl one of the practical and thorough- 
going farmers and reliable l>usiness men who 
ciijdy ill a liigli measure the confidence and 

ilOnd will (if all. 



WILLIAM F. SEIBOLD. 

This ^\•ell-known citizen of Danbury is one 
of the imijortant factors in the business circles 
of Woodbury county. The possibilities that 
America oifers to her citizens he has utilized 
and though he came to this country in limited 
circumstances he has steadily and perseveringly 
worked his way upward, leaving the ranks of 
the many to stand among the successful few. 
For twenty-two years he has now made his 
home in Danbury and has been an extensive 
dealer in real estate, lumber, grain and live 

.Mr. Seibold was born March 31, ISo'J, in 
Fellbach, five miles from Stuttgardt, Germany, 
and was reared and educated in his native land, 
attending school from the age of six to four- 
teen years. On the 4th of March, 1855, he 
left home and started for the United States. 
From ISTew York he went to Detroit, whence 
he proceeded to Chicago and on to Peoria, Illi- 
nois, where he spent about six years. For two 
months he worked on a farm at ten dollars 
per month and then learned the harness-maker's 
trade in Peoria, which occupation he followed 
for six years. From 1S60 until 1868 he made 
his home in El Paso, Illinois. 

It was during that period that ^Mr. Seibold 
was majL-ried in 1862 to Miss Elizabeth Kreis, 
who was born in Germany in 1841, and was 
thirteen years of age when she came with her 
parents to the new world. Seven children 
blessed this union, namelv: Charles F.. who 



m^ 




^^/f^:^^!;^^ 



PAST AND J'1!K.S1-:NT OF WOUDBUlfY COUNTY 



117 



is engaged in business with liis father at 
Daiibury; William F.. at home with his pa- 
rents; Louisa, who died in ISTO, at the age 
of three years; Emma, now ihe wife of Dr. 
G. W. ^Murphy, ^\'ho is represented on an- 
other page of this volume; George W., who is 
married and is also engaged in business with 
liis father at Banbury ; Edward, now a resi- 
dent of Fort Worth, Texas; and Harry, wlni 
died in 1S!>;J, at tlie age of eleven years. All 
have been given good educational advantages 
and some have pursued a college course. 

From El Paso, Illinois, Mr. Seibohl ami his 
family removed to Chatsworth, that state, in 
ISGS, and there he was engaged in the grain 
business and in milling, erecting a flour mill, 
which he ojjerated until 1S82. On landing in 
Xew York he had only tive dollars and with that 
capital he began life in the new world. The 
first home that he ever owned was in El Paso. 
On the Sth of May, 1882, he came to Daubury, 
Iowa, and built the first grain elevator at this 
jilace an<l started the third lumber yard, which 
Were known as the Seibohl ele\'ator and lum- 
l)er yard. These he successfully carried on un- 
til the loth of November, 1903, when he sold 
both to the same party. In the meantime he 
was also extensively engaged in the real estate 
business, from time to time making judicious 
investments in land until he o-wned o\-er eight 
thousand acres in Woodbury, Ida, Crawford 
and Monona counties lying adjacent and two 
thousand acres elsewhere. The purchase price 
of this projjerty was from four to twenty dol- 
lars per acre, but it has since risen rapidly in 
value. Mr. Seibold still owns over seven thou- 
sand acres and is now selling at a good jirofit. 
He is a man of excejitional business ability, 
sound judgment and strict integrity, and these 
qualities combined with industrious habits have 
made him one of the most prosperous citizens 
of his community. 

Mr. Seibold voted for Lincoln, but afterward 
supported the Democratic party luitil that or- 
ganization endorsed the free silver measure. 



when he voted for McKinley and has since been 
a stanch Kepulilican. In religious belief he 
and bis family arc Lutherans and he is a mem- 
ber of the blue lodge and chapter of the Ma- 
sonic or(h'r at (Jhatsworth, Illinois. He is be- 
y<jnd doubt the most influential and jirominent 
citizen of Danbury and is highly respected 
throughout the county, his extensive business 
inlcrcsts bringing him in connection with a 
large number of men. 

A friend in speaking of our subject, said: 
"I consider William F. Seibold the greatest or 
at least i:)ne of 'the greatest financiers this con- 
tinent, if not two continents, has produced. 
For a man tii come to a town like Daubury 
and in twenty years without speculation to 
amass by hard work and attention to business 
a fortune of a million, having nearly eight 
thousand acres of land in this section and de- 
velopments in Texas of which no one but him- 
self knows how much, is a wonderful exhibition 
of financial ability. I place him second to 
none. He has enemies, but who has not if he 
be prominent? He has made mistakes — who 
has not i He is human — who is perfect ? But 
numberless persons testify to his honesty and 
ability. In the passing of William F. Seibold 
all his critics will pass too and he will be point- 
ed to with pride by his old neighbors and critics 
as well.'' 



:\IKS. E. p. KIPK. 



IMrs. E. P. Kirk, of Sioux City, born in Giles 
county, Tennessee, May 6, 1835, is a daiighter 
of Allen and 3ilartha L. Stinson, who in 1840 
removed from Tennessee to southern Iowa, 
^\'li('re they S]ient their remaining days. In the 
fall of 18.57 their (laughter came to Sioux City 
and in 1859 she gave her hand in marriage to 
E. E. Kirk, who had located here in 1856. He 
was born at Port Clinton, Ohio, and was de- 
scended from ancestors who were among the 
founders of the William Penn colony of Penn- 
sylvania. On arrivino- in Sioux City he turned 



118 



IWST AND PIJHSKNT OF WOODP.rRY COUNTY 



liis attcniidii to general iiicrrluniilisiiii;- and 
tliroiigluMil llic jicriiiil (if the ('i\'il war lie re- 
mained willi tlie ai'iiiv as a sutler. Alter the 
cessntidu (if Imst ilil ies he retiiriieil In this [ihice 
and aii'ain ciii^au'ed in ciindiicl iiiu' a li'eiieral 
store, eoiil iiiniiin' in llie Irach' fur alxmt twenty 
years. lie hecame (Uie df tlie well kllnWll mer- 
chants here and his eiilerprise and careful man- 
agement resulted in hriuiiing to him a very de- 
sirable measure of success. He was also active 
in ]iublie affairs and for twelve years he filled 
the olHce of postmaster, ])roving most eapaiilc 
in the discharge of his dtities. On the expira- 
tion of his third term of service he retired from 
the office and lived in the enjoyment of a well 
earned rest up to the time of his death, which 
occurred in September, 1 !•(»(•, when he was 
sixty-six years of age. He li\'e(l an hon- 
orable, npright life, was faithful in citizen- 
shi]i, in friendship and in the ties of the home, 
and in business he made for himself an honor- 
able iKime by reason of his tnitiring energy and 
his (\iriiest purpose. 

l''ive children were born unto Mr. and Airs. 
Kirk, of whom tliree are now d(>ceased. Those 
li\-iug are Ivlwiii, who is suiierinteinlent of the 
'i'ractioii ('oiiipauy: and Frank, who is teller 
ill the Merchants National r>aid<. Mrs. Kirk 
is a nu'inber of flie (yongregat ional church and 
is highly esteemed by a large circle <if friemls. 
llei- sisii'r, .Miss .\. I'". Sawyers, came to Sioux 
('ity with Mrs. Kirk and has nnule ln-r liome 
hei-c e\'er since. She was the ]iro]irietor of and 
conducted the lirst nnllincry estal)lishuient of 
the city, c'liit inning in the business until alxuit 
thirtv Years ai;-o, when she sold out. 



CIIAKLKS MKVKK. 

I''oi' a nnnilier ol' years ('liarles Meyer has 
been uniidiered among the prominent and jum- 
gressive residents of Sioux City and is the j)ro- 
ntoter of one of its leading business enterprises. 
The growth ami de\elo]unent of a city depend 
\i]iim its conunercial and industrial at-tivity and 



thus has Air. Aleyer been one of the upbuiiders 
of the town. He is associated with his brother, 
(ieorge li. ^Meyer, in the conduct of an extensive 
wholesale harness house and his business career 
illustrates the fact that success nu\y be achieved 
thr(uigh strong and persistent purpose guided 
by good judgment and integrity. 

C'liarles Aleyer was born in Phihidelphia, 
Pennslyvania, in 1858, and his brother, George 
K., in Fort Atkinson, Iowa, in 18G0. Their 
father, Charles Meyer, Sr.. was a native of 
( 'ohuar, Alsace-Lorraine, ami came to the 
United States in 1854. After living for some 
years in Philadelphia he removed to Iowa, set- 
tling in Fort Atkinson in 1858. He, too, was 
a harness maker by trade and followed that 
pursuit for a number of years. While in Fort 
.\tkinsou he served as postmaster under Presi- 
dent Buchanan. Later he removed to Festina, 
Iowa, and was called upon to serve as assessor, 
tax collector, justice of the peace and county 
supervisor, holding the last named office at the 
time of his death. He was a member of the 
Catholic chtirch and gave his political allegi- 
ance to the Democracy. He died January 8, 
ISTiI. In early maidiood he had married Aliss 
('atberiiu' Kroniin, a native of Germany, their 
weililing being celebrated in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, in 1S54. Twelve children, three 
sous and nine daughters, were born of this 
union, of wlioin ten are yet living. The broth- 
er, Kdward ]\Ieyer, is a resident of Alinneapolis, 
where be is engaged in buying horses. The 
mother still survives at the age of seventy-three 
years and retains ])ossession of her mental and 
physical factdties to an unusual degree. 

('harles anil (Jeiirge K. Aleyer acquired their 
early eihication in the country schools and the 
I'onner afterwar<l engaged in clerking in a gen- 
eral stoi-e at l)ecorali, Iowa, where he remaiiK^d 
tor three years, after which he went to Ossian, 
Iowa, when' he also engaged in clerking for 
se\-en years. He then embarked in business 
for himself there as a general merchant and 
c, inducted his own enterprise for five years. In 




CHAKLES JIEYElf. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



121 



Juiio, 1SS7, he arrived iu Sioux City and in 
Jaiuiar}'. 1S8S, established a wliolesale sad- 
dlery and harness business in connection with 
his brother George E. at s\o. "JOO Fourth street. 
They remained at that location iintil 1898, when 
they reuioN'ed to their present quarters at Jfo. 
SOO and 30:3 Pearl street. 

George R. Meyer on leaving school worked iu 
his father's harness shop until the latter's death 
and then went to Decorah, Iowa, Avhere he se- 
cured emj)loyment in the same line for two 
years. He next conducted a shop of his owu at 
Festina, Iowa, and in 1879 he went to ^lilwau- 
kce, Wisconsin, where he acted as salesman in 
a wholesale saddlery house, continuing at that 
place until ISS-i, when he came to Sioux City, 
remaining in the employ of L. Humbert, a 
wholesale saddler, until 1888. He then joined 
his brother under the firm name of Meyer 
Brothers, dealers in wholesale saddlery and 
manufacturers of harness and strap work. They 
have a building fifty by one liTindred and 
twenty-rive feet and two stories in height with 
basement. They employ twenty-five men, in- 
cluding traveling salesmen who cover jSTebraska, 
Iowa, South Dakota and southern Minnesota. 
This is the largest enterprise of the kind in 
Sioux City and one of the most extensive in 
the northwest and it has been built up through 
the energy, enterprise and imfiagging perse- 
verance of Charles and George E. Meyer, who 
well deserve mention among the representative 
men of this place. 

Charles Meyer was married iu 18s8 to Aliss 
Annie Dessell, of Ossian, Iowa, and they had 
eight children, four of whom are living. The 
parents are communicants of the Catholic 
church and ilr. Meyer is a member of the Sioux 
City Boat Club and also belongs to the Benevo- 
lent, Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of 
Columbus, and St. Boniface Society, while his 
political allegiance is given to the Democracy. 
George E. Meyer married Barbara Brill, of 
ISTeosha, Wisconsin, and they have three chil- 
dren. He, too, is a member of the Catholic 



church, a Democrat in his political views and 
has served as alderman of the first ward, while 
socially he is connected with the Modern Wood- 
men of America and St. Boniface Society. Both 
men are possessed of strong business ability and 
executive force and their excellent management 
has brought to them the high degree of pros- 
perity which is to-day theirs. They have been 
watchful of all the details of their business and 
of all indications i^ointing toward prosperity 
and from the beginning have had abiding faith 
in the ultimate success of their enterprise. 
They have gained jn-os])erity, yet if has not been 
alone the goal for which they have striven, for 
they belong to that class of rejiresentative 
-Vmericans who ])romote the general good while 
advancing indi\-i<lual interests. 



B. F. WILSON. 



B. F. Wilson, living on section 21, Kedron 
township, near ('orrectionville, is one of the 
intelligent and enterprising farmers and stock- 
raisers of Woodbui-y county, whose ]dace of 
four hundred acres is well imiiroved and valu- 
alile. He is uTimbered among the early set- 
tlers of the state, dating his residence in Iowa 
from 1856, while since 1888 he has made his 
home in Woodbury county. He was born in 
Trumbidl county, Ohio, jSToveniber 15, 1852. 
His father, John G. Wilson, was born on the 
same farm and in the same house in which oc- 
curred the birth of his son, B. F. Wilson. His 
childhood days were passed upon the old home- 
stead there and when he had arrived at years 
of maturity lie umrried Euth Van Knocker, 
who was born in Pennsylvania and was of Ger- 
man ancestry. Mr. Wilson carried on farm- 
ing in Trumbull coimty, Ohio, until 1856, 
when he removed to Iowa, locating first in Ma- 
haska county, where he remained for a num- 
l)er of years. He then removed to Madison 
county and a few years later settled in Cherokee 
county, Iowa. He afterward returned to Ohio 



1-^2 



PAST AXD PRP:SENT OF WOODBURY C'OT^XTY 



and spent his last years in Tnniil)iill county, 
wliere his death occurred, January I'.i, 18!»S. 

Under the parental roof, upon the home farm 
in Mahaska county, Iowa, B. F. Wilson S2oent 
the days of his childhood in the usual manner 
of farmer lads, assistiuu- in tlic work of field 
and meadiiw. Ills cducatiinial a<h'antages 
were meager, but experience and observation 
have greatly broadened his knowledge since he 
arri^'ed at years (d' uuiturity. Wli(>n a young 
man he went to iladisoii cnunty, Iowa, where 
he was married on the 'ISd of ^March, 1ST2, to 
Miss Xellie Harlan, daughter of Asa and Han- 
nah (Mott) Harlan, who were pioneer settlers 
of that county. 31rs. Wilson was reared and 
educated in that coiinly and for some years was 
a successful teacher, acting as principal of the 
school at Aurelia, Cherokee county. 

After his marriage ilr. Wilson homesteaded 
a place in (.'h(.-rokoe county and there engaged 
in general farming for nine years. On the 
expiration of that period he sold his property 
and took up his abode in Aurelia, where he was 
engaged in the grain and stock business for 
two years. On the expiration of that period 
he removed to IMarcus, Iowa, where he con- 
tinued in the stock and grain business for eight 
years. In 1888 he btH'amc a resident of 
Anthon and conducted a similar business enter- 
prise, building the first elevator there. He 
continued the purchase and sale of grain and 
stock at that place for eight years and then 
bought his present farm about ISOO. This he 
operated through the service of hired helj) until 
1903, when he disposed of his interests in the 
town and took up his abode upon the farm. 
He has made an addition to and remodeled the 
house, built two good barns, corncribs and 
sheds and, in fact, has added all modern equip- 
ments to the property. The farm is neat and 
thrifty in appearance and a glance indicates to 
the passerby the practical and jn'ogressive spirit 
of the owner. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the ])arents of five 
children: Lynette, the wife of C. A. Dobell, 



former cashier of ihc Anthon State Bank, 
which position he occupied for ten years; 
Elmer (_'., who is married and assists in the 
operation of the home farm; Elgin, who was a 
twin of Elmer an<l died at the age of fifteen 
years; Erma, the wife of Charles Shontz, a 
resident farmer of Woodbury county; and 
Erroll, at iiome. The eldest son, Elmer C. Wil- 
son, Was married May 30, 1900, to Miss Jfellie 
Chesebro, daughter of R. A. and Mary (John- 
son ) ( 'lu'sebro, of Buchanan county, Iowa. 
The young coujjle had a son ■who was born Oc- 
tober 30, 1902, and died March 6, 1903. 

Where national questions are involved Mr. 
Wilson is a stanch and earnest Republican, but 
at local elections votes independently. He 
served as a mendier of the Anthon council for a 
few terms and is n<:iw township school treasurer, 
but has never lieen an office seeker, preferring 
to give his attention to his business affairs. Mr. 
and Mrs. Wilson and their family are mem- 
bers of the Christian church at Anthon and he 
is a blaster ilason, while his son, Elmer, is 
serving as secretary of the lodge. Mr. Wilson 
is a past master and in his life exemplifies the 
beneficent spirit of the craft, which is based 
upon brotherly kindness and mutual helpful- 
ness. Almost his entire life has been passed in 
Iowa and he has lieen closely identified with 
the pros]]ority and progress of the coramimi- 
ties in which he has lived. He has helped to 
develop and make Woodbury county what it is 
to-day and he is now one of the enterprising and 
well known farmers of this portion of the state, 
whose life of activity and honesty has won him 
prosperity, also the good will and confidence 
of his fellow men. 



PROFESSOR T. BURTOIST MORRIS. 

In edncatioiuil cii'cles in Iowa Professor T. 
Burton Morris has made for himself an envia 
ble place and name and for the past six years 
he has efticiently served as sujierintendent oi 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBUKY COrXTY 



123 



the schools of Com-C'tioiiviHc, which under his 
guidance made substantial advancement, the 
introduction of improved and jjrogressive meth- 
ods resulting to the benefit, of the city along 
educational linos. His zeal for his woi"k was 
nuniifested in his consecutive labors for the 
welfare of the school and the value of his meth- 
ods have been proven by the test of time. 

Professor Morris is a native son of Iowa, 
his birth having occurred in Adams county 
near Corning on the 15th of March, 1864. He 
is descended from English ancestors who jirior 
to the Revolutionary war came to America and 
settled in Pennsylvania, while at a later date 
the family was estalilished iii Virginia. It was 
the great-grandfather of Professor Morris who 
removed from the Keystone state to the Old 
Dominion. Pleasant ilorris, the grandfather, 
was born in Virginia, and J. W. Morris, the 
father, was a native of Charlottesville, Albe- 
marle county, Virginia, born in 1828. Pleasant 
Morris accompanied by his family removed 
westward to Kentucky and after about a year 
went to Indiana, where he resided for a 
few years. In 18.51 J. W. Morris came to 
Iowa, where he secured a homestead claim on 
which the city of Waterloo now stands. In 
18.53 he took up his abode in Adams count}', 
Iowa. There he purchased land and began the 
development of a farm from the tract of raw 
prairie. He first was located near Corning 
and his indefatigable effoi-ts and perseverance 
enabled him to transform the wild tract into 
richly cultivated fields. Later, however, he be- 
came a hmiber merchant of Brooks, Iowa, and 
subsequently he settled in Corning, becoming 
one of the jn-ominent and influential citizens of 
that place, taking a most active and influential 
part in community affairs. He served as 
mayor of Corning, giving a business-like and 
progressive administration, and he was sheriff 
of Adams county for several terms. A man 
of strong and forceful individuality and marked 
progressiveness in citizenship, be was recog- 
nized as a leader of public thought and opinion 



and left the impress of his life upon the sub- 
stantial development of communities with 
which he was connected. He was married in 
Indiana to Miss Celia Burton, a native of that 
state and a daughter of Thonuis Burton. He 
spent his last years in Corning, where he had 
so endeared himself to his fellow men by his 
personal characteristics and his jniblic service 
that his death was the occasion of unifVirm and 
sincere sorrow throughout the city. In the 
family were nine children, five daughters and 
four sons, all of whom were born in Iowa, and 
with two exceptions all are natives of Adams 
county. There has been no death among the 
children. 

Professor Morris was reared in Adams 
county, pursued his early education in the 
coiuitry schools, afterward attended the Corn- 
ing high school, subsequently became a student 
in Ames Agricultural College and completed 
his education at Cedar Falls, loAva, where he 
was graduated with the class of 1891. He then 
turned his attention to teaching as a life work, 
entering upon the active duties of the profes- 
sion at Goldfield, while later he was located at 
Central City and afterward at Sioux Rapids. 
In 1898 he canu' to (Airrectionville as sitperin- 
tendent of the schools of this place and was 
widely recognized as oiu^ of the leading edu- 
cators of western Iowa. In 1896 he took the 
examination for a life certificate, which he 
now holds. He gave close and earnest study to 
his \vork, constantly striving to improve meth- 
ods and render the labors of the schoolroom 
more effective as a preparation for life's prac- 
tical and responsible duties. He inspired the 
teachers under him with much of his own zeal 
and had the faculty of stimulating his pupils 
to do their best. About the 12tli of January, 
1904, he purchased the Sioux Valley News, 
the only paper in Correctionville and the third 
official paper of Woodbiiry county. He took 
possession of the same on the 1st of February 
and since the close of the school year has de- 
voted his entire time to the new enterprise. 



124 



PAST AND PEESEXT F WOODBURY COITXTY 



Professor Morris was married at Clarion, 
lown, June IT, 1S'.>2, to Miss Florence Gates, a 
native of Clarion, wlio was reared and educated 
there. Prior to her marriage she was a suc- 
cessful teacher. Two children grace this imion, 
Dorothy Lloyd and Roger Gates. Politically 
Professor Morris is a stanch Republican, Avell 
informed concerning the (juestions which divide 
political sentiment into two great parties, but 
he has never sought the honors or emolnmcnts 
of office. Ho anil Jiis wife are memliers of the 
Congregational church and he is a member of 
the Masonic fraternity and also of several fra- 
ternal insurance companies. Both Professor 
and ]\Irs. Morris occupy an enviable position in 
social circles where true worth and intelligence 
are the standard by which the members are 
judged. They have gained many friends dur- 
ing their residence in Correctionville and have 
exerted no luiimportant influence in the social, 
intellectual and moral development of the city. 



1101^. JOSEPH S. LAWRENCE. 

Hon. Joseph S. Lawrence, one of the fore- 
most figures in political circles in northwestern 
Iowa, has served as police judge and also as a 
member of the state senate, and is now a Vvcll 
known and prominent attorney of Sioux Cily, 
Iowa. He was born in Brooklyn, JvTew Yorlc, 
in 185-t, and is a son of W. S. Lawrence. 
After the completion of an academic course of 
study in his native city he entered Madison 
University at Hamilton, ITew York, f.-(;n: 
which institution he was graduated in 187."^. 
With a good literary knowledge to serve as 
the foundation upon which to rear the sujier- 
structure of his professional learning he tlen 
took up the study of law in the office and under 
the direction of Henry L. Clinton, of Xcw 
Yiirk. and later imrsucd a conrsc in the Xcw 
Y(irk Law I'niversity, being admitted to tlie 
bar in 1877. He began the practice of Ins 
profession in Herkimer county, Xew York, 



l)nt in tlie winter of 1881 removed to Sioux 
City, Tdwa, wliere he has since been engaged 
in active practice, his clientage becoming a 
large and lucrative one. He was elected police 
judge of Sioux City, but in 1886 resigned and 
was elected to represent his district in the state 
senate, where he proved a capable member of 
the upper house, giving careful consideration to 
each 'question which came up for settlement. 
He began his jiolitical career as chairman of the 
county central committee and since that time 
has been an active factor in political circles, 
doing all in his jiower to promote the growth 
and insure the success of the Republican party. 
In his profession he has attained crcditaljle dis- 
tinction and has broad and comprehensive 
knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, 
while his devotion to his clients' interests is 
proverbial. 

In 1875 ]\Ir. Lawrence was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Ima D. Treadway, a daughter of 
John M. Treadway, of Herkimer corinty, New 
York, and they have two children : ]\rary E., 
married George W. Avery, who is engaged in 
the lumber business ; and William Marshall is 
studying law with his father. For almost a 
quarter of a century Mr. Lawrence has resided 
in Sioux City and his social pi-ominence is 
equal to his ])rofessional standing, which is 
anionir the ])esr. 



JOIIX HOPP. 



One of the important elements in American 
citizenship is that furnished by Germany. The 
suns of the fatherland have come here imbued 
with energy and anibition, determined to win 
success, and tliniugh hi>norable methods have 
largely achieved the goal of their hopes and at 
rlie same time have lieen faithful in citizenship, 
their labors being jiroductive of great good for 
tlic various communities with which they have 
b( 'Clime identified. Of this class John Hopp is 
a re])resentative and is now living on section 30, 





^^Z-ti^/^^ ^^>^>' 



PAST AND TEESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



129 



Rutland tuwnsliip, liaxiug iii;nle his honif in 
Woodbury county since 1885, \vliil(.' iiis resi- 
dence in Iowa dates from 187:^. His iiirth oc- 
curred in Ilolstein, Germany, Feliruary 11, 
1852, and at the usual age lie entered the pub- 
lic schools, acqiiiring there a good knowledge of 
the common branches of learning. When nine- 
teen years of age he bade adieu to friends and 
native country and sailed for America, and in 
1872 he made his way to Iowa, settling in Pot- 
tawattamie county, where he workeil by the 
month for several years, fl was thus that he 
gained his start in life, lie scdriu.'d no liouest 
labor that would yiehl him a living, but per- 
sistently worked <iu until his efforts had brought 
to him capital sntiicicut to enable him to become 
the owiiri- of a fai-ni. In 1 SS,"i lie removed 
to \V(joilbury couuly and al first rented a tract 
of laiiil, which he (jpcratcd for two years. He 
then invested in property, becoming the pos- 
sessor of one hundred and sixty acres, where he 
now resides, on section 30, Rutland township. 
He at once began to cidtivate and improve this 
and later \iv bought an adjoining tract of one 
hundred and sixty acres, so that he now has 
quite an extensive farm. During his residence 
here he has erected a large and substantial 
home and built good bai-ns, corncribs and sheds 
and has added all modern accessories and equip- 
ments to his ])lace. A fine orchard yields its 
fruit in season and shade trees of his own ])lant- 
ing add to the attractive appearance of the 
place. 

While residing in Pottawattamie county ilr. 
Hopp was married on the ;5d of February, 
1880, to Miss Austena Hutchendorf. They be- 
gan their domestic life upon a farm in Potta- 
wattamie county and during their residence 
there some of their children were born. They 
are now the parents of ten childi-en: ^Minnie, 
the wife of Adam ifeister, a resident farmer of 
Woodbury county, by whom she has two chil- 
dren, Martha and Otto ; Ernest, who is at 
homo; Henry, Herman, Anna, Bertha, Louise, 
•Tolni, Rudolph and ^Fartlia, all of whom are 



under the parental roof. Mr. and Mrs. Hopp 
hold membership in the Lutheran church, in 
the faith of which they were reared, and politi- 
cally he has been a life-long Democrat but 
nc\cr an office seeker. He is widely and favor- 
ably known in Woi.Mlbury county as a man of 
integrity and upright character who has borne 
his full share in the work of public progress and 
in the advancement of the agricultural interests 
of this part of the state. 



JOHX X. MAXDERSCHEID. 

John X. Manderseheid, who is engaged in 
the \\-holesale liquor business under the firm 
name of Manderseheid, Sons dt Company, was 
liorn in Lemars, Iowa, January 11, 1877, his 
parents being John and Josejjhine (Ries) 
^landerscheid, both of whom were natives of 
Germany. The father was born in 1849 and 
when six years of age was brought to the United 
States by his parents, the family home being 
established near Dubucpie, Iowa, where John 
Manderseheid, Si-., was reared to agricultural 
pursuits. In 1874 he became a resident of 
Lemars, Iowa, where he remained continu- 
ously until 1888 and for some time he was en- 
gaged in conducting a hotel there. In 1889 he 
removed to Sioux City, where he established a 
saloon at the corner of Second and Virginia 
streets. In 1894 the enterprise was moved to 
its present location at No. 314 Fourth street 
and in its conduct Mr. Manderseheid has won 
prosperity. His jDolitieal allegiance is given to 
the Democracy. His wife is a luember of the 
German Catholic chiirch and they are the par- 
ents of five children, all of whom are yet living. 

John ]Sr. Manderseheid, whose name intro- 
duces this record, acquired his literary educa- 
tion in a parochial school at Lemars, Iowa, and 
was graduated from the commercial depart- 
ment of the Sioux City high school with the 
class of June, 1895. He then began working 
for his father and on the 1st of Julv, 1901, was 



130 



I'Asi' ANh n;i:si;NT nr wooiusruY curxTY 



iiduiitti'J ii> ;i |i:ivtiuTsliip in (•oiuu-i'lioii with 
his brolher, llfiirv, uiulcr tlic liriii slvlc dt' 
!Maiul('i'Sfhci(l. Sons \- ( 'iiiii|i;inv, wholesale 
lii[uor iiiori'luuils. (>!' this couiiiniiv John 
iliuulersi'lu-id, Sr., is the |>rcsiil,'ni. ilinrv 
Mandcrschoid is the secretary, and dolin X. 
Maudersclu'id is the treasurer. They an- llie 
sole agents in Sioux (~'ity for tlie Pabst Brewing 
Company and iheir luisiiiess is extensixc and 
[irotitahle. 

[n April, liX):!, -lohn X. :Manderseheid was 
nnitcd in nuifriagi' to Miss .Icnnie Miller, a 
danghicr of .lohn and Margaret (Dean) Miller. 
Tiny are well known young people ot' this eily 
:ind lia\e many friends here, lie helongs to the 
Sons ot' lU'rnian, to ihe Fraternal Eagles and 
to the Western Travelers .Veeident .Vssoeiatioii 
and liis polilieal snpport is given to ih(> Uenio 
eralie party. 



wii.i.i.VM .srmwoi; iiiv. 

William Siidworlhy. deeeased, who eon- 
dueted a hardware store in Sionx t'ity for many 
years, arrivetl here in ISSo and made for him- 
self an exeellent reeord in li'aile eireles. He 
was born in Kiigland, .May i'".i. lS;!t. a son of 
Thomas and Klizabelh Stidworthy, who were 
also natives of that oountry. whenee they eanu' 
to .\ineriea in early life, settling in the state of 
New York. The father engaged in eontraet- 
ing and bnilding and followed that pursuit in 
the Empire state for several years, Fveninally 
he began s|>eeulniing in the iron mines of the 
cast and afterward settled in .Xew Milford, 
New Jersey, where he engaged in mining until 
his death. His wife also died there. 

^Yilliam Stidworthy aeqnired his edneatioii 
in the eommon sehools of England and eanie to 
Ameriea when eighteen years of age. lie re- 
sided for several years with his father, living 
both in Ogdensbnrg and in New ^lilford. New 
Jersej, where he was eonneeted with mining 
interiists. He beeanu' superintendent of the 



mines in tin- latli^'r plaei' and renuiineil in .New 
.Milt'or»l U>v several years. He then reniovt'il 
In the West and sellled i\ear (ialena, afterward 
remo\ing to -lo |)a\ies eonnly, Illinois, where 
he purehased a farm and carried on agrietil- 
lural pursuits for se\eral Ncars. lie afterward 
bought another farm near .\.pple river in the 
same eonnly and iMuitinued its cultivation for 
some lime, being thus engaged at the time of 
the eiutbreak of the Civil war. He afterward 
enlisti'd in ( 'ompany 1", Ninety-sixth Illiiuiis 
Infantry, and the c'oinpany was sent to the 
south, hut Mr. Siidwortliy was taken ill and rc- 
mainecl in the hospital for sivme \m\r. On ae- 
eoiint of physieal disahiliiy he was honorably 
diseharged in Texas, lie then returned to his 
farm near (ialena, Illinois, and was engaged in 
general agrieulturtd ]iursuits until 1883, >vhen 
he remo\eil to Sionx City, Knva. Here he 
formed a partnership with his son-in-law, C. O. 
llilliard, and they established a hardware store 
ai the eorner of Fourth ami Virginia streets, 
eondneting the business at that point for several 
\-ears, but Mr, Stidworthy never enjoyed good 
health after the war and several years prior to 
his death he di'eidinl to retire from business, 
lie then sold his interest in the store and en- 
joyed a well merited rest up to the time of his 
death, whieh oeenrred Ajiril 10, lSi)!l. 

Mr. Stidworthy was married in Ogdensliurg, 
Xew Jersey, to ifiss Sophia E. Brooks, who was 
born in Pennsylvania, September 24, 1832, a 
daughter of Daniel and .Mary (Brooks) Brooks, 
both of whom were natives of England, whence 
they came to America in 1828, settling in Penn- 
sylvania, where her father was engaged in 
mannfaeinring woolen goods for several years. 
He afterward removed to Jo Davies county, 
Illinois, and purchased a farm near Apple 
river, where he conducted agricultural pursuits 
until his death. His wife also passed away in 
that loeality. Fnto ^Ir. ami Mrs. Stidworthy 
were born eight children : Alary Jane, the wife 
of Edgar Bingham, of Wright county. Iowa, 
and the mother of four ehildren. Caroline S., 




w ii.i.i.wi s riitw oK'Tin 



PAST AND PRESJiNT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



133 



George \V., .Maud and Bessie; Josephine, the 
wife of C. (). Ililliard. a hardware nierehant of 
Sioux City, by whdUi she lias two chihlrt-n, 
Olivia and Charlotte; Amanda, the wife of C. 
L. Bingham, a retired farmer of Iowa Falls, 
Iowa ; George H., who is a practicing physician 
of South Dakota; Lizzie, who is tin- wife of M. 
Lawson, who is engaged in the insurance busi- 
ness in Wright county, Iowa, but tlu-y are now 
residing with ilrs. Stidworthy and they now 
have two children, Muriel and Meta ; Daniel 
B., a i^ractieing jjhysieian, who married Alice 
Halquist and has three children, Helen, Ada 
and ^Margaret, and resides in Omer, Xebraska ; 
and John and Anctta, both of whom are de- 
ceased. 

Mr. Sti<l\v(irthy held several minor offices 
while living in Jo Davies county and was a 
stanch Republican in polities. He belonged to 
the Grand Army of the Rci^ublic and he was 
reared in the faith of the Episcopal church. 
During his rcsi<leiice in Sioux City he made 
numy warm friends because he commanded 
their respect and won their regard by his kindly 
spirit and genial nature. His widow is a mem- 
ber of the First Methodist Episcopal church of 
Sioux City and she noAv owns a commodious 
hrime at N^o. 1015 Iowa street, where she re- 
sides with her daughter and her familv. 



F. W. WOODRUFF. 



F. W. Woodruff, an active and enterprising 
representative of business interests in Correc- 
tionville, where for eighteen years he has been 
identified with commercial affairs ,was born in 
Monroe county, Iowa, on the Ttli of February, 
18.57. The family from which he is descended 
is of English origin and was established in 
Pennsylvania at an early period in the coloniza- 
tion of that state. David Woodruff, his grand- 
father, was born in Pennsylvania, whence he 
removed to Trumbull county, Ohio, becoming 
one of the pioneer residents of that portion of 



rhe country. There amid the wild scenes of 
frontier life he reared his family. 

E. B. Woodruff; father of F. W. Woodruff", 
was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, on the 25th 
of June, 1835, and is a self-made man who, 
without extraordinary family or pecuniary ad- 
vantages at the outset of his cai-eer, made his 
way steadily upward, improving his opportu- 
nities until, through the force of his character 
and unabating energy, he gained for himself a 
comfortable competence. He came to Iowa 
about 1854, locating in Monroe county. He 
was accompanied by his mother and there he 
opened a farm, transforming the wild prairie 
into richly cultivated fields. He was married 
there to Elizabeth Parker, a native of Licking 
county, Ohio, and a daughter of Reilly Parker, 
who was also an early settler of Ohio, living in 
Licking county. ^Mrs. Woodruff was reared 
in the Buckeye state and came to Iowa 
in the year in Mdiicli her husband estab- 
lished his home here. They Itecame ac- 
quainted on the steamer while coming down 
the Ohio river and the friendship thus formed 
ultimately resulted in marriage. After de- 
voting his attention to agricultural piirsuits for 
a time Mr. Woodruff took up his abode in Ot- 
tumwa, Iowa, where he conducted a livery 
stable. On selling that property he removed 
to Eddwille, where he was engaged in business. 
At the time of the Civil war he espoused the 
cause of the Union and became a lieutenant of 
the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, with which he served 
for four years or until the cessation of hostili- 
ties. Following his return from the army he 
engaged in the hardware business at Knoxville, 
Iowa, where he has built up a very large trade, 
being still one of the active and enterprising 
merchants of that city, his business connection 
therewith covering about thirty-eight years. 
All that he jjossesses in life has been acquired 
through his own efforts and the fact that he has 
passed on the highway of life many who started 
out before him and has reached the goal of suc- 
cess is due to his recognition and utilization 



134 



PAST AND rjfl-:SHXT F W(JUl)JU'i;Y COT'XTY 



of opportunities, to his reliable business inelli- 
ods and unfaltering determination. His wife 
passed away in February, l'J02. 

F. W. Woodruff was reared in Kiio.wille, 
acquired his early education in the public 
schools and afterward attended the Wesleyan 
Uuiv(>rsity. When he had put aside his text- 
books he accepted a position in connection with 
the lumber business, remaining there for a year, 
at the end of which time he entered his father's 
store and this relation was maintained for 
seven or eight years. In December, 1885, he 
came to Correctionville, where he j^urchased 
a hardware and implement store. His business 
has since expanded until it has reached ex- 
tensive proportions and in order to meet the 
growing demands of his trade he carries a 
very large line of shelf and heavy hardware, 
stoves and implements, buggies and wagons. He 
has wi'ought along modern business lines and has 
found in each transition stage opportunity for 
greater effort and for the further expansion 
of his enterprise. 

Mr. Woodruff has alst> taken quite an active 
part in the uj)building and improvement of 
the town, giving hearty and effective co-opera- 
tion to many measures for its welfare and im- 
provement. He is, indeed, a public-sjiirited 
man and his aid can always be Cdunted upon 
in any measure for the general good. He 
erected a good residence here, which he occu- 
pies, and he also owns two other dwellings and 
a business block in Correctionville. In politics 
he is a stanch Republican, casting his first presi- 
dential ballot for James G. Blaine. He has 
never sought or desired office as the reward for 
party fealty, but at one time was a member of 
the town board and for a number of years 
served on the school board, his friendship for 
the cause of education being strong and relialile. 
He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, has 
served as junior warden in the blue lodge and 
is a member of Kingsley Chapter, R. A. ^I. 
He has passed through all of the chairs of the 
Knights of Pythias lodge, is a past chancellor 



anil lias lieen representative to the grand lodge 
f(ir two or more terms. 

On the 11th of October, 1880, .Mr. Woodruff 
was married in Knoxville to ^liss Lydia Boyds- 
ton, a native of Bella, Iowa. Her public-school 
education was sup])lemented by study in Ames 
College. Her father, Major C. B. Boydston, 
a native of Penn.sylvania, became one of the 
pioneer residents of Liwa and was actively 
identified with educational work here, serving 
as a teacher in Bella College. Mr. and Mrs. 
Woodruff' have two children, Lyman W. and 
E. B. Woodruff. The former was graduated 
from the Iowa City Dental College in June, 
l'.H)4. The family is well known in Cori'cc- 
tionville and ^^'<lol:lllurv county and ^Ir. Wood- 
ruff's activity in business and in public life has 
gained him a wide acquaintance and brought 
to him the attention of his fellow men, who, 
familiar with his career, recognize in it many 
elements wm-thy of their respect and com- 
mendation. He has in his l>usiness life fol- 
lowed nu'tliods which have brought him success 
and at the same time have left his name an 
untarnished one, because he has never been 
known to take advantage of the necessities of 
his fellow men in any trade transaction, but 
has alwavs been honorable and straightforward. 



JA:\rES E. BOOGE. 



James E. Booge, one of the promoters and 
upbuilders of Si()ux City and a most import- 
ant factor in its industrial and financial circles, 
is honored and estt'enie(l by all and his career 
exciles the admiration and respect of his fellow 
men. It is not alone the success he has achieved 
but the honorable business methods he has fol- 
lowed that ari' worthy of comment and com- 
mendation. He began operations here with 
limited cai)ital and as the city has grown he 
has extended the field of his activities, and 
raking advantage of existing conditions has 
wrouii'ht along lines of modern business de- 





^. Z-rfl-e^ 



J\ 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



137 



velopment with the result that he is to-day one 
of the men in comfortable circumstances in 
Sioux City. His labors, too, have been of a 
character that have proven of great benefit to 
this portion of the state, and in many of the 
finest business blocks and residences in Sioux 
City are seen evidences of his life of thrift and 
energy, for through building operations he has 
contributed in large measure to the upliuilding 
of the county seat. 

Mr. Booge was born in Piltsford, Rutland 
county, Vermont, and is a representative of an 
old New England family. liis paternal grand- 
father, Oliver Booge, was born in Connecticut 
and was a farmer l)v oecnjiation. At the time 
of the RevolutiniKirv war he espoused the cause 
of the colonists and aided in winning indepen- 
dence. His death occurred in Pittsford, Ver- 
mont. His son, Harris Booge, the father of our 
subject, was burn in ihe Green Mountain state 
and when fifty-six years of age removed to Can- 
ada, where he remained for six years. He then 
went to Waterloo, Indiana, where his remain- 
ing days were passed, his death occurring in 
1855, when he was seventy-three years of age. 
In early manhood he had married Miss Laura 
Hubbell, a native of Connecticut who came to 
Sioux City, Iowa, in 1859, and here died Jar. 
nary 11, 1893, at the advanced age of ninety- 
two years. In their family were twelve chil- 
dren, (if whom James E. Booge is the fifth in 
order of birth. Those still living are: Harris 
1)., a resident of Topeka, Kansas; John j., who 
is living in Los Angeles, California ; Harriet 
M., the wife of William Welsh, of Bozeman, 
Montana; and Laura K., the wife of Jerry 
Jones, of New^ York city. 

James E. Booge when a lad of nine years 
went to live with his married sister, Conrotta, 
the wife of John Piatt, of Brighton, Ontario. 
There he remained for six years and upon his 
sister's death he returned home, his father hav- 
ing in the meantime removed to Indiana. Mr. 
Booge continued to reside in that state from 
1848 until 1854, when he went to California, 



making the trip by way of the isthmus of Pana- 
ma, across which he walked. After reaching 
his destination he engaged in mining with fair 
success and in 1858 he returned to St. Loiiis, 
where he was employed by a railroad company 
f<ir a time. He then secured a stock of provi- 
sions and chartering a lioat started up the river 
with the intention (if selling his supply to wood 
dealers. On the 11th of October, 1858, how- 
ever, he reached Sidux City with almost his 
entire stock iinsdld, after having made a trip 
of twenty -two days. He then rented a small 
store, for which he paid fifteen dollars per 
month, and became identified with mercantile 
business in the embryo metroijolis of north- 
western Iowa as a retail grocer. Not long after 
this he was joined by his brother, H. D. Booge, 
and under the firm style of H. D. Booge & Com- 
pany they continued business from 1859. Sub- 
sequently their brother, John R., was admitted 
to the firm and the business grew and jirospered 
\nitil they wci-c well known tlii-dughdut this 
section of the country as wholesale dealers. 
From year to year their trade increased for they 
followed the most progressive business lines and 
won an unassailable reputation for reliability 
in all trade transactions. Thus they were en- 
gaged until 1878, when the firm dissolved ])art- 
nership and the business was sold. Prior to 
this, in 1870, Mr. Booge began in the pork- 
packing business, which lie cdnliniicd Xn operate 
until 1880. It liecame necessary at that time 
to secure larger ([uai-ters and a commodious 
plant was erected on what is known as the bot- 
toms. This was called the Booge plant and 
James E. Booge continued as its proprietor 
until 1891. It was erected at a cost of two 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars and there he 
developed a very extensive and profitable busi- 
ness, the conduct of which demanded the em- 
plo\^^lent of three hundred and fifty men. He 
continued operations along progressive and 
modern business lines until 1891, when this was 
merged into the Chicago pork-packing interests. 
^fr. Booge selling out for tlircc Inindri'd and 



138 



PAST AXD P1JE8ENT OK WOODBUIJY COUNTY 



thirty thousaml ilollars. Jlc iheu retired from 
the business hut iiMlnlciicc iiiid idleness were ut- 
terly foreign to liis nature and he t'ould not ('(in- 
tent himself with no liusiiiess activities to en- 
gage his time, attention and energies. He has 
since dealt exlensi\-cly in real estate and is the 
owner of \'ery \ahiaMe |ir(i|KTly. In this direc- 
tii)n he has prdl.aMy dcmc more fur the improve- 
ment and nplmililing id' Siimx ('ify than any 
other man. Aniung llic ini|iiirtant hnildings 
which have heen creeled Ijv Inni are the jiacking 
house in 186(3, the packing house in Water street 
in 1873, a two-stiu'v hiulding on Fourth street 
and a two-story building on Pearl street. lie 
was also one <d' the four men who built the Hotel 
Booge and later he became its sole owner. This 
hotel is now the Mondamin and is the leading 
hostelry of Siini.x City. Air. Booge has also 
erected a residence property at the corner of 
Seventh and J)ouglas streets, now known as The 
Booge; six houses at the corner of Pearl and 
Seventh streets; nine houses at the corner of 
Foui'th ami Douglas streets; a jiacking house in 
Floyd ('ity, Jowa, at a cost of two hundred and 
fifty thousand d<illars; fifty dwelling houses in 
that city; and also labl out the Rose Hill addi- 
tion as one of a company composed of four part- 
ners. He was also one of the promoters of 
Crescent Park and laid out the Booge & Taylor 
addition, the Alorningside a(klition, the Booge 
west side addition and the Booge addition to 
Sioux City. He has been watchful of the signs 
of the tiuR's, noting the possibilities for ad- 
vancement and in his expanding business inter- 
ests he has also contril)ntcd to the welfare and 
progress of the ca])ital (dty as perhaps no other 
one has done. 

Air. lioogc spent four years in Alaska on the 
Yidton river, going there in 1897. In the 
spring of 1898 he went to Dawson, where he 
remained for eleven months without seeing a 
newspajjer. He became thoroughly conversant 
with con<litious in that wealthy but unimproved 
section of Auu'rica's jiosacssions, living there 
at the time when there was the first oreat rush 



to the gold fields. He spent the following win- 
ter and sjiring in Los Angeles, California, and 
a brief period in Wyoming, returning to Sioux 
City on the 1st ui July, 1902. He has varied 
important business interests here aside from 
his proi)erty, being now the jiresident of the 
firm of Booge, Coe lic Booge and also the man- 
ager of the Weare Grain Ciimpany. Of the for- 
mer comjiany Joseph I\. Coe is the vice presi- 
dent anil James F. Booge is secretary and treas- 
urer. 

Air. Booge has been twice married. He first 
weilded Anna Al. Hubbel, of Connecticut, who 
died in lS(i4, leaving two children, H. 1). Booge, 
dr., of AIinneaj)(dis, Minnesota, and James F., 
who is living in Sioux City. For his second 
wife Air. Booge chose Lucy B. Robinson, of St. 
Louis, and they were married in 186fi, while 
her death occurred September 10, 1900. Their 
children were Fred, now deceased; Laura E., 
the wife of E. AL Bent, of Wyoming; and 
Josephine IL, the wife of C. G. K. bourse, id' 
I'rince Albert, Xorthwest Territory. 

Air. Booge has been a mend)cr of the Alasonic 
fraternity since 1858 and has attained the 
Knight Templar degree. Alore than forty-five 
years have passed since he arrived in Sioux 
City. ( 'omiug here with his liitle stock of gro- 
ceries and finding an embryo town which gave 
little pi'omise of rapid development, he yet re- 
cognized its jiossibilities, made the most of his 
opjxii'tnnities and as the years passed directed 
bis labors so intelligently, carefully and honor- 
ably that to-day he stamls among the foremost 
men of northwestern Towa, strong in his honor 

and his g 1 name as well as in his material 

iHissessions. 



ST. BOXIFACE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

St. Boniface Catholic ( dmrch was incor))o- 
rated January ■22. 1SS9, and Rev. J. A. Gcrle- 
imin was appointed its first pastor. The con- 
si-res;ation at that time was verv suuill and many 




REV. H. J. SCHLEIEE. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUIJY COUNTY 



141 



diriiciiltics had to be encountered iu oi-der that 
the church might maintain its existence. The 
church edifice as it stands to-day is a modest 
frame structure with a spacious basement iu 
wliich the heating phnit is located. The church 
is lighted throughout by electricity and the 
lighting plant has been installed by the present 
pastor. The seating capacity is rated at five 
hundred and over one hundred and ten families 
iKiw belong to this prosperous church organiza- 
tion. A choir of sixteen voices imder the direc- 
tion of M. Schneiders renders appropriate 
music for divine service and Miss Jane Foley 
lU'esides at the organ. 

Not (inly does St. Boniface church, however, 
guard the spiritual interests of her mature 
members, Imt she ever has at heart the train- 
ing of her children in Christian principles and 
secular knowledge. A commodious school is 
attached f(i the church, where religious and sec- 
ular edueatiou is imparted by the Sisters of 
Christian Charity. Teaching of the German 
language also forms a part of the curriculum 
of the school. The sisters in charge not only 
possess a requisite knowledge of religiotis and 
secular branches, but they have also been well 
trained iu the sciences of psychology and peda- 
gog\'. Thus they are ably fitted to guide the 
embryonic minds of the children. The at- 
tendance of pupils at this school in the winter 
of 1004 reached the uuml)er of one hundred 
and forty. 

Aware of the strength of co-operative influ- 
ence, various societies have been organized in 
connection with the church. The men of the 
parish have instituted a benevolent society and 
erected a hall on the church grounds where en- 
tertainments are furnished from time to time, 
the proceeds lieing used for charity. The 
young ladies of the church belong to the So- 
dality of the Blessed Virgin, a society in which 
special instruction is imparted for their sta- 
tion of life. A Christian Mothers' Society has 
been organized, to which married ladies may 
belong. At the meetings of this society special 



instructions are given relating to the duties of 
married peojjle. 

The jjastor's residence is a modern two story 
building situated near the elnirch an<] was built 
at a cost of eighteen hundred dollars. Cement 
sidewalks and lieautiful shade trees add to the 
attractive appearance of the lawn. The entire 
grounds and buildings belonging to St. Boni- 
face church organization may be valued at thir- 
ty thousand dollars. 

Rev. J I. .1. Schleier is the j) resent pastor. 
He was appointed to succeed the former pastor. 
Rev. J. Gerleniau, on the .")th of Octolier, l'.H)-2. 
Father Schleier came to Sioux City from Xew 
York, where he had been occuiiied with clerical 
duties for some time. He is a native of Cass- 
ville, Wiseonsiii, and when nine years i.>f age 
he left the place of his nativity, liicatiug at 
Earling, Iowa, where he attended the public 
and parochial schools. At the age of sixteen 
he entered St. Benedict College at Atchison, 
Kansas, where he pursued classical studies for 
five years. He then entered St. John's Univer- 
sity at Collegeville, Minnesota, where he was 
graduated in the commercial, philosophical and 
theological studies on the 21st of June, 1898. 
Shortly after his ordination by Bishop Tro- 
beck, of St. Cloud, Minnesota, he was appointed 
curate at St. Peter's and St. Paul's church at 
Carroll, Iowa, a position Avliich he held for two 
years. Desirous of further perfecting himself 
in his sacred calling he entered the Catholic 
University at Washington, D. C, as a special 
student in psychology and sociology. After 
two years study at that institution he was ap- 
pointed to succeed Rev. J. A. Gerleman at 
Sioux City. During Father Schleier's pastor- 
ate at St. Boniface church a steady growth of 
the ])arish has been note(l. Under his judicial 
and conservative management a debt of twenty- 
eight hundred dollars has been liquidated and 
improvements made to the amount of one thou- 
sand dollars. In the near future St. Boni- 
face congregation contemplates the erection of 
a new brick church to replace the present frame 



142 



PAST AND lMU:SEX'r (_>F WOdlMUlIY COUNTY 



struetiiro. Uiulrr tlu' fiirtlicr leailership uf 
Rev. SclilcKM- St. Ildiiifacc |iarish will certainly 
prosper aiul grow to great diuieiisioiis. The 
church at this writing is free from debt and has 
a liank account of seven hundred dollars. 



FUKDHincK (T.AIJK HILTS. 

Fredrrick (lark IlilU. who made tV>r liiuiself 
an luinored name and enviaMe record in husi- 
ness life and who was a \eteran of the Civil 
war. was horn in county Kent. Kngland. -lauu- 
ary -Ji'. ISi:.', and died in Sioux L'ity. In the 
year of his liirlh he was brought to the United 
States by his parents, who settled in Vernon. 
Xew York, where they speiU their remaining 
days. There Frederick V. Hills was reared 
and his early educational privileges were sup- 
plemented hy a course of stu<ly in Vernon 
Academy. When not engaged with the duties 
of the schoolroom his time and attention were 
devoted to the work of thi' farm, which he fol- 
lowed cniTgeiicaliy, Imt when tifteen years of 
age he began learning the carriage-trimmer's 
trade, serving a regular apprenticeship. He 
afterward worked at his trade in Rome, Xew 
York, and at the same time further prepared 
himself for life's practical duties by pursuing 
a business course of stiuly in the Rome t\un- 
mercial College. He continued to fidlow his 
traile until ISiii', when he [UU aside all btisi- 
ness aiul personal consiilerations, ior the tocsin 
of war had sounded and men from all walks of 
life were flocking to the standard of their coun- 
try. He responded to the tirst call for three 
hundred thousand troops and became a member 
of Company E, One Hundred and Seventeenth 
Xew York Infantry. He had previously been 
ideiuiticd with a military organization known 
as the Gansevoort Light Guards of Rome. This 
company decided to volunteer and with the 
command of ^Ir. Hills went to the front under 
Colonel William R. Pease. He was appointed 
second sergeant of the comjiany. The reginuuit 



was at once sent to Washington, but at the end 
of three months Mr. Hills was discharged at 
Fort Alexander because of physical disability. 
On the liHh of March, 1864, occurred the 
marriage of Mr. Hills and ^liss Lucy C. Rip- 
]i(y, of Spati'ord, Xew York. The same spring 
he came to Sioux City, Iowa, driving from 
ilarshalltown with a yoke of cattle. Xot long 
afterward he went to Yankton ami to Bon- 
iioiiime. South Dakota. He returned to 
.Marshalhown, however, in .Inly, and there en- 
tered the employ of the Chicago \- Xorthwest- 
ern llailroad Company, his task being to put 
wood in the woodsheds of the road. Xot loug 
afterward, however, he accepted a clerkship 
in the office of the company. Removing to 
.\e\ada in August, 1864, he was there ap- 
pointed cashier by D. C. Dodge, vice-president 
of the Denver it Rio Grande Railroad Com- 
jiany. and when the road was opened to Boone, 
Iowa, he removed to that place, arriving there 
on the 15th of Jiily, lS(i5. Mr, Hills was sent 
to ^lissouri Valley Tuiu'tion to open the station 
there for business, in December, 1866, and after 
serving as jiioneer agent for one month was 
transferred to Dennison. Iowa, where he was 
nnulc agent. .Vll the freight for Sioux City 
was then hauled by wagon from Dennison. 
When the Sioux City iSc Paciiic Railroad was 
comideted. ;March 7, 1868. Mr. Hills was ap- 
]Kpinted station agent, thus serving until Sep- 
tember, 187(t, when he was promoted to the 
])osition of general freight agent and in June, 
1871, he was made general ticket agent. Sub- 
sequently he became siiperintendent and after- 
ward was nuule general traffic manager. His 
connection with the railroad was thus marked 
by steady progression from one position of re- 
sponsibility to another, until he occupied a 
very impiu'tant place in connection with the 
management and business of the road. He cou- 
tiniied to sei've as general traffic manager until 
August 31, 1881. when on account of ill health 
he resigned. Mr. Hills then established a 
hardware store in Sioux Citv, conductine the 



PAST AND riJESKXT OF WOODBUin' COUNTY 



l-t3 



eiiterjirise until 18S8, when lie suld init in or- 
der t(i accept a jxisitioii with the ue\v railroad 
ill the interests of Sioux City. 

Ill comiimnity affairs ]\lr. Hills took an 
active and helpful interest and his labors were 
so directed that all acknoAvledged his worth in 
citizenship. He, however, did not seek public 
tittice and tilled few jiositions of political pre- 
ferment. He was fur three vears a member of 
the school board ami for one year a memlier of 
the city council. In fraternal circles he was 
quite priiniinent, liel(iin;iiii:- to the (irand Army 
of the Kepublic and to the .Masonic organiza- 
tion. He served as master of his lodge, as high 
priest of the chapter and eminent commander 
of the commandery, and he became a thirty- 
third degree ^lason in the Scottish rite. His 
political allegiance was given to the Republican 
party. He was a man true tri his honest con- 
victions, fearless in ad\-iicacy (if what he be- 
lieved to be right, and in all matters of citizen- 
ship he displayed the same loyalty that 
pnimpted his enlistment in the Union .Vrmy 
and his service in the south at the time of the 
Civil war. 



BENTOX HATHAWAY. 

Benton Hathaway, an enterprising agricul- 
turist living on section 'J, Kutland township, is 
numbered among Iowa's early settlers, having 
resided within her borders since 1865, while 
twenty-two years have passed since he came to 
Woodbury county, and during this period 
great changes have oectirred marking the on- 
ward progress of civilization. In the work of 
pioneer imj)rovcment he has been deeply in- 
tei-ested and in many ways has performed his 
full share in the advancement and development 
of the county. 

Mr. Hathaway was born in Darke county, 
Ohio, June 21, 18.56. His father, David W. 
Hathaway, was also a native of the Buckeye 
state and was reared and married there. Miss 



_Mary Armstrong becoming his wife. He car- 
ried on agricultural pursuits in Darke county 
for a number of years and five of his children 
were born there. In 1865, however, he sought 
a Imnie west of the Mississippi and located in 
iladison county, Iowa, where he engaged in 
the development of a farm and continued to 
carry on agricultural pursuits for a number of 
years. Subse(]uently he took up his abode in 
Woodbury county, joining his son, Benton 
Hathaway here, and in this county he and his 
wife spent their remaining days. 

Benton Hathaway Avas reared to manhood in 
^Madison county, Iowa, and largely assisted in 
the A\ork of developing and improving the home 
farm, gaining an intimate knowledge of prac- 
tical agricultural methods. The occupation to 
which he was reared he has since made his life 
work. After his marriage he removed to 
(iuthrie coimty, Liwa, where he carried on 
general farming for three years and in 1SS2 he 
came to Woodbury county, while in ISS-l he 
located on tlic land wliicli he has since owned 
and cultivated. He secured a homestead claim 
of one hundred and sixty acres and this he 
placed under the ])low and fenced. Some years 
later he erected a large and attractive two-story 
residence. In the rear of this stand substantial 
and commodious barns and other convenient 
outbuildings. He has planted a grove of for- 
est trees and there is an orchard and much 
small fruit upon the place; in fact, its equip- 
ments are all in keeping with modern agricul- 
tural ideas and up-to-date methods of farming. 
He also bought more land adjoining the orig- 
inal jnirchase and his farm now comprises two 
htuidred and forty acres. In addition to the 
cultivation of the fields he is likewise engaged 
in the raising of a good grade of stock and is 
accounted one of the successful agriculturists 
and stock-raisers of Woodbury county. 

On the 2d of Februarj^, ISTH, in Madison 
county, Iowa, Mr. HathaMay was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary E. ^Murphy, a native of 
Illinois, who was born near Princeton, Bureau 



144 



I'AST AM) rilHSHXT O F WOODBUKY COUXTY 



wmilv. lln- I'allicr, llaiiiliii Miiriiliy. was an 
early scIiKm' and an cnici-iirisiug farmer of that, 
conntv. \'u\<< Mr. ami Mrs. Hathaway have 
heen horn six clLihlrcn: George I., who assists 
in the oi)eralion of the home farm; E. D., R. II. 
ami G. 11., who an- also al home: Kdith M., the 
wife of James .Mitehell. a resident farmer of 
Kntland townshii); and Kva M., who completes 
the family. 

In his ]ioliiical views Mr. Hathaway has al- 
wavs lieen a I li-inncral. giving earnest support 
to the men and niea^nres of the party, and is 
reeognizi'd a> an aelive and etlieient worker in 
loeal jiolitical eindes. lie has heen a delegate 
to ninnerons eounty and state conventions and 
has heen a mendier of tlie central committee 
of Kntland lownsliip. lie was elected and 
served as township assessor, was township school 
treasurer and has lield other positions of p\tl)- 
lic honor and trnst. lie helongs to Pierson 
lodge of Odd Fellows, and also to the Modern 
W.iodmeii Camp. lie has lielpe<| to improve 
and nuike W'ootlluiry county what it is to-day 
and during the (pnirter of a century i>f his resi- 
dence here has heen (do^ely idi'Utihed with its 
agricultural development, also eontrihuting in 
sulistantial nu'asures to jirogress in other lines. 
lie ami his wife ha\e a large eircdc of warm 
friends and are well entitled to i-e|iresentation 
in fhi^ volniae. 



ISAAC .XKWI'OX STOXE. 

Isaac .Xewtoii Sioiic is with one e\ce})ti(:in 
the oldest represenlat i\'e of the nursery linsi- 
tu'ss ill Sioux ('ily and he has attained success 
through the inherent I'm-ce of his cdiaracter, the 
exercise (d' hi< nati\-i> talent and the utilization 
of snrroumling opportunities. His connection 
with the ]inlilic interests of the city has also 
been far reaching and lieneficial, for he has 
aided in sliai>ing the municipal policy, in pro- 
moting its material development and in nd- 
vancini;' its imii-al progress. His ])atriotic cit- 



izenship and his interest in coianninity atfairs 
has taken tangible form in his zealous labors 
for the imijvovements instituted through ahler- 
nianic measures and at the ])resent time he is 
ser\-ing as a member of the city council. 

Mr. Stoni' was born in Aladison county. New 
York, duly 20, ISSU. His father, Anson P. 
Stone, also a native of the Enii>ire state and a 
farmer by occtijiation, removed from Xew ^ ork 
to Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, in 1S44, and in 
that locality he opened u]i a farm cd' two hun- 
dred acres now included within the suburbs 
id' the city. There were not a dozen families 
there at the time of his arrival ami with the 
pioneer development and progress of his com- 
munity he was closely identified. His death 
occurred there in IS.'n'. when he was but thirty- 
seven years of age. He held membership with 
the Methodist Episcopal chnvch and was one 
of the organizers of the congregation of that 
ilenoniination at Fort Atkinson. He was then 
(diosen one of the cliuridi othcers ami took a 
very active and helpful jiart in its njilmilding. 
His political support was given to the Whig 
party and he was a man universally respected 
because of his tidelity to his honest convictions 
and by reason of the honorable purposes which 
permeated his life. His wife, who bore the 
niaiilen name of Ccirnelia Adams, was a datigh- 
ler of Isaac and Eunice (Webster) Adams. 
Her maternal ancestors were of the same fam- 
ily as Xoah Widister, the comi"iiler of the dic- 
tionary, the grandmother (d' oiir subject being 
his niece. ]\lrs. Stone was born in .Madison 
county, Xew York, and, long survixiiig her 
husband, ]iassed away in IS."^!' al the age of 
se\-enty years. She was also a faithful and 
consistent mendier of the ^Ii'fbodist Ei)iscopal 
(diurcli. In their faiidly were Hve (diildren: 
Emery W., who was a teacher in the pnblic 
schools and afterward a physician at Fort At- 
kinson, Wisconsin, where his death occurred; 
Isaac X., of this review; [Marcena P., who is 
a dealer in woo<l at Santa Glara county, Cali- 
fornia ; Spencer I., a dentist of Alaska ; and 



I'AST Axi) i'i;i':si:\'r of woodiuiiy corxTV u? 

Mary L'., wlm is the wife cif I'ml'i-ssdr II. W. ihc intcrcsl (jf llii' |ir(]|ilc (if 1 li nimiiiiiily in 

Eaton, who for a iiiinil)er of years was a fcachcr ilic work ami a lew weeks lalei' a Siiiiihiy-scliool 

ill the Chicago Manual Traiuinj;' scliool, luit is was (ii'i;ani/,(Ml by .\Ii-. Slune, <>( wiiicli lie was 

now living refircil al Santa liarliara, Califor- clidscn the sn]i('riiileii(lent. lie Imlils nieinlior- 

nia. ship in the First JJaplist ehiireli nl' Simix ('ity, 

Isaac X. Stone accjnircd his education in is one df ifs trustees and takes a \-ery active 

Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and in Alliiou Acad- iniei-est in cliur(di work. lie was sn|]ei'inlen- 

emy, and in early manhood he ile\dleil niiieli ilcni of ihe Snnda,\--school <d' llie Foi-l Alkiii- 

of his time to the profession of teaching lor son .Methotlist Episcopal church for eleven years 

ten years. He afterward had charge of a gen- ;ind has also heeii superintendent of se\-eral 

eral fanning and iinrsery business for a few mission schools in connection with his work in 

years and finally devote<l his entire attention the liapiist cliiireli al Sioux City. For fifty 

to llie development of his nursery. Fn the fall years he has been an active clinrcdi member, 

of 1SS4- he came to Sioux City, locating at untiring in liis effoi-ts to promote the cause (;f 

Aroi-ningside, where he purchased thirtv acres ( 'hrist iatiity and extend its influence. He 

of land, which be ]ilaiited to small fiaiits and gives bis political allegiance to llie IJeptddican 

supplied with nursery stock. He has since jiai'ty and regards it the duty as \V(dl as the 

continued in the business with excellent sue- pri\ilege of every .\mericaii citizen to uphold 

cess and with one excepfion is the oMest nnr- ibe ideas whiidi he deems will best advance gov- 

scryimin of fliis place. Keceiitly be lias come enimenlal iiiteri'sts. While at Ffirt Atkinson, 

into possession of aiiotlier t i-act id' laud which W'iseonsiii. he was (decteil and served for four 

is plea>antly and con\-enieiitly localeil two ami siiccessi\-e terms as su])ervisor of Jefferson conn- 

a half miles ■fliwest id' tbe coii rtlioiise of ty, Wisconsin. lie has been alderman (d' tlie 

Sioux ('ity. This is all planted to fniit wliicli se\-eiilh wai'd for <i\-er three terms and is now 
is of su])erioi' ([uality and gi'aile and tlius linds a member of tbe city coiimdl, to wdiicb he has 
a ready market. He has made for himself a been elected without opposition. lie has 
most excellent reputation and because of this serxcd as cbainnan nf the police committee and 
lia^ -.eciired a pat roiiaLic wbicb makes bis bii^i- was cbainnan (d' tbe claims committee under 
iii-ss protitable. W'itbin i-c'cenf yeai's be has Mayor (Juick and als.. under .Mayor iJiirtun. 
]ilatted a tliiiiy-acre t I'act of land at Morning- lie i^ now cliairman of street c'ommiltee and 
side and has alrc:idy s(dd about half ui it. is an infiucntial membei- of other committees. 
He does considerable real estate business and In ISfii occurred the marriage of Mr. Stone 
in connection with K. ( '. Peters he is the old- and .Miss Siwan L. Dye, a daiigliter of Knoch 
est resident of .Morningside. P. ami Fovina Dye, ImjiIi natives of ^Madison 
^Ir. Stone has done mucb for the inipro\-e- county, .Vew ^'ol■k, and both settlers of Jeffer- 
inent and ))roniotion id' iliat section of tbe idty, son county, Wisconsin. Mrs. Stone was born 
jiutting forth strong and effective eifort not in Madison comity, Xew York, December 20, 
only for its material advancement but also for 1S4(), and like her husband is widely and favor- 
its progress along educational, soida I and moral ably known in Morningside and in other sec- 
lines. Tfo \vas largely iiistriimi'iital in esiab- tions of Sioux ('ity. For many years he has 
lishino Alorningside College and in Issc, be been connected with the upbuilding of the 
organized the first Sunday-schord of the ifethri- county and he has jnst reason to be |iroud of 
dist Episcopal church at IM'orningside. Its tbe fact that to his efforts can be traced many 
\ services were held in a little frame sidioolhoiise. a substantial entei'pri-e or achiexement contrib- 
j Rev. Glass visited the neighborhood, awakened uting greatly to the beauty and prosperity of 



us 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBIHY COUXTY 



Mdi'uiiiiiisidc. Ill every sense of the word he 
is the re])reseiitative citizen devoted to the wel- 
fare of his chosen city and state and loyal to 
the best interests of o'ood oovernnienr. 



THOMAS IIEKHEKT AFST, il. D. 

])r. Tlmnias Ilerlici-t Aust, one of flie youiiiier 
and yet siiceessful medical practitioners of 
Sionx City, was horn Febrnary 14, 1ST4, in 
Bristol, Eniilaiid, wlieri' his ancestors had lived 
for four or ii\'e iiciierations. His parents were 
Thomas Iiichard and ilarv (Davies) Aiist. 
The father was ])i-o])rietor of a brass foundry 
in which he eni))loyed on an average of forty 
men throiighont the year. He died iu 1891, 
at the age of fifty-two years, and the mother is 
still living in Bristol, England. In the family 
were six children, of whom three are yet living. 

Dr. Anst, the tiftli member of the family, 
attended Rcdland (irove follege, in Bristol, 
tmtil ten years of age, at which time he gained 
a free scholarship, an lionor won by but two 
boys out of the two hundred and fifty in the 
Bristol Cathedral College. He spent the next 
four years in college and was graduated with 
honors at the age of fourteen years. He also 
passed examinations similar to that given in 
post-graduate courses from the College of Pre- 
ceptors. After his graduation he entered the 
brokerage firm of Bolijent & Board, with whom 
he remained for three years, leaving there at 
the age of seventeen years, ujjon the death of 
his father. He then became his father's suc- 
cessor iu business in association with his broth- 
ers. He remained in the In-ass foundry busi- 
ness for two years, when at tlie age of nineteen 
he withdrew and eiiterc^d the service of Att- 
wood, Catherine street, Strand, London, a ]iri- 
rate detective agency, with whicli lie remained 
for two years. Tn lS'.l."i, when twenty-one years 
of age, lie came to ilie I'niteil States, making 
his way direct to Woodbury county, Towa. TTe 
ptirchased an eigiity-ai're farm in Woodliurv 



townslii]) and cultivated it successfully for two 
years, when in IS'.lS he rented the farm and 
tauglit instrumental music on the piano and 
organ. lie also led the Holly S]u-ings Daiid. 
L:iter lie came to Sioux City through the solici- 
tation of bis friend, Dr. Glann, of Holly 
Springs, and began the sttulv of medicine at 
the Sioux ( 'ity College of iledicine, from which 
he was graduated on the 30th of April, 1003. 
He at once entered upon practice in Sioux City, 
meeting with very good success, and now lias a 
desirable and growing patronage. 

Dr. Aust was married, January 1, I'.Hi:;. at 
Sioux City, to ^fiss Catharena Feldner. and 
they have one cliild, Carolyn, liorii ^farch :'>, 
T.I04. They are well known socially in Sioux 
City and are popular with many friends. 



HEXBY KT'Riy. 



Henry Kurtz, in his l]tisiness interests, has 
manifested excellent ability, executive force 
and keen discrimination and is to-day chissed 
among the substantial farmers and stock breed- 
ers and dealers of Woodbury county. His farm 
comjirises one hundred and seventy acres of 
highly developed land and upon this he has a 
fine lierd of pure blooded Hereford cattle. All 
of his possessions have been acquired through 
his untiring efforts and persistency of purpose, 
and his success shows what can be accomplished 
wlieii one has the will to dare and do. 

]\Ir. Kurtz is a native of Germany, his birth 
Iiaving occurred in Prussia, on the li'tli of 
June, 1S40. He rcniaiiieil in tlie fatherland 
until nineteen years of agi> and enjoyed good 
scliool privileges, being instructed in the Latin 
as well as the German tongue. His youili was 
]>asse(l iipon tlie h<ime farm and tlieii wIkmi a 
young man lie emigrated to America in IStlO, 
hoping that he might have better business op- 
])ortunities tlian were afforded in the old w<irld. 
He did not tarry on the Atlantic coast lint con- 
tinueil liis journey into tlie interior of tlie 




DE. T. H. AUST. 



PAST AND I'lJKSKX'l' () K \\()( )| H'.l i; V COIXTV 



151 



country, joiniug some friends at Muscatine, 
Iowa. Soon afterward he secured employment 
as a farm hand in .Mnscatine county and was 
thus engaged inilil after tlic onthrcak of tlie 
Civil war, when his patriotic sj)irir was aroused 
in behalf of his adopted count I'v and he en- 
listed, in August, 1802, as a member of the 
Thirty-fifth Iowa Infantry. He joined Com- 
pany C and went to the south under General A. 
J. Smith. He participated in the siege and 
capture of Vicksburg, in the battle of Jfash- 
ville, in the Red River expedition, and at Pleas- 
ant Hill, Louisiana, he was shot through the 
leg. At Tupelo, Mississippi, he was wounded 
in the finger, but he sensed until the close of 
the war and was honorably discharged in Au- 
gust, 186.5. 

After recuperating he began work upon the 
home fann and throughout his entire life has 
carried on agricultural pursuits. Following 
his marriage he located on a tract of land of 
eighty acres in Muscatine county. This he 
afterward traded for a farm of one hundred 
and forty-three acres, on which he continued 
to make his home until 1881, when he sold that 
property and came to Woodbury county. Here 
he purchased one hundred and forty acres of 
raw land on section 1, Rock township, continu- 
ing the cultivation of that land for fifteen years, 
when he again sold and purchased his present 
farm on section 2, Rock township. It com- 
prises one hundred and seventy acres of land, 
on which but slight improvements had been 
made when it came into his possession. This 
property is the visil)le evidence of his life of 
thrift and industry. Upon the farm he has 
erected a neat residence, built two large bams 
and other outbuildings and has continued the 
work of ini])rovement in accordance with mod- 
ern ideas of agriculture. He has planted fruit, 
shade and ornamental trees and his farm is now 
most pleasing in appearance. The fields yield 
to him golden tribute in return for the care and 
labor which he bestows upon them and as a 
stockdealer he has met with verv desirable suc- 



cess, brcf-iliiig and raising pui-e-bloijiicd Here- 
ford cattle. 

On the 2!Hli of Xovemljer, 1866, Mr. Kurtz 
was nuitcil ill iiiarriage to Miss Florenza Dall- 
niann, who was born and reared in Germany. 
They became the parents of the following chil- 
dren : John, a merchant of Cushing; William 
and Edward, who follow farming in Woodbury 
county; Albert and Harry, at home; Lena, the 
wife of Dave Gilgerson; Tillie, the wife of 
James Shaddock ; Ella, the deceased wife of 
Will Stoltz, her death occurring in 1000; Ida, 
at home; Lizzie, the wife of Frank Croeksel; 
Emma, Lucy, Elsie and Mabel, all of whom are 
under the parental roof. 

In ills political allegiance Mr. Kurtz is a 
stanch Republican, but the honors and emolu- 
ments of office have had no attraction for him. 
Both he and his wife were reared in the faith 
of the Lutheran church and are now memVjers 
of that denomination. Mr. Kurtz belongs to the 
Grand Army Po.st, at Correctionville, and thus 
maintains business relations with his old com- 
rades who wore the blue uniform upon the bat- 
tle-fields of the south. The hope that led him 
to come to America has been more than real- 
ized. He Avas a young man, possessing courage 
and determination but no capital, and placing 
his dependence upon the substantial qualities 
of labor and perseverance he has steadily 
worked his way upward and has not only gained 
a comfortable competence but has also won the 
respect and good will of all with whom he has 
come in contact. 



\V. H. HEXDERSOX. 



\V. 11. Henderson, representing the business 
interests of Hornick as a dealer in harness and 
saddlery, is one of the native sons of this state 
and the enterprise which is so characteristic of 
this part of the country and has led to its rapid 
development is a factor in his career. His birth 
<^)ccurred near Independence, Iowa, July 28, 



152 I'AST AM> i'i;i:si';.\'r oi' w oodiu i;v coixty 

l.S(i:;, mill lir is :i son ol' SainnrI niid V.W/.-a 1 ). Ii>\:illv in cil izrn>lii|i, li<iiu'sty in business — 

(Clariv) llciiilcrMiii. The I'miIkt was oI' I risii I hoc arc lii> rliii'T cliai-arliTist ics atul arc qual- 

aiiil (ii'i-iiiaii (Ir^ccnl ami llic iiicillici- was i>\ \\\r> wliirli lia\c i^aiiicil liiin warm regard and 

ScDic'li anil (irniian liiiraui'. 'I'lirv were iialixcs ihc i;,mm| will of iIium- wiih wlanii he has come 

(if New \<>vk aiiil M i-->ciiiri, rr>|M'rl i\ rl\ , ImiI in cniilacl. 

s|i('nl ihr i^rcalrr |iarl of llirir li\r> in Iowa. 

Ill ihi'ir t'aiuilv wrrr Ncxcn rli i M nii. W. II. 

lIcliilcrMUi liriii:; llir lil'lli in orilci- <>( liirlli. 

11. hail liv.. sisli.is ami ,„„■ luM.h.a-, hn, ih.. '"•'^';^' ^- I ^ l^* 'K ^K. 

chlrsl ami Ihr voiiiii;vst ul' llir I'aniilv arc now \\',,oilliiir\ ,-onnlv liiimvs as our of llic most 

d''i'<';isril. allrarli\r, |n'oi;rrssi\T ami |iros|ici-ons ili\-isions 

I'mlrr iho |iarciilal i-oof W. 11. llfniliT.-.on of llir >iaif oT Iowa, jiisllv clainiing a high 

s|icnl llic ilavs ol' \\]> rhilillioo.j. ami hi^ rarlv orilir of ril i/rn>hi|i ami a spiril of culcrprise 

(■lineal ion, ari|nircil in llir |ilililii' srhools of wliirh is ccrlain lo cohmtw consi'dll i\-c di'Vel- 

Tonaw allaniir roiinl V, low a. w as sii|i|ilriiii'iilcil o|inionl ami niarknl aihanccnicnl in tlicmate- 

liv >lmly in ihc liiuli school of Shelly, Iowa. rial ii|ilinililiiii; ol' I he mh-I ion. The county has 

i'liliiiii; aside his ie\i hooks he learneil llic hccn ami is sii^iially faxorcil in ihc class of men 

llMilc of harness niakiiii; ami also I he carpcnlcr's who have eonlrolleil iu atl'airs in otiicial ca- 

IraiK'. l''or I wo years he li\eil in Kansas, where paeily, ami in I his eoniieel ion the snhjeel of this 

he look a honiesleail elaini ami hciiaii ils de review deiiiamU represeiilal ion as one who has 

velo|iiiieiil. hill ihedronlh mined his erops ami >er\cd llie eoiinly failhfiilly and well in jiosi- 

he I'einrned lo ihis >iaie. where he has speiii I ions of di>iiiiei Iriisi and res|ioiisilul iiy, being 

ihe grealer pari of his life. He has been a ihepi'eseiil recorder of I he eonnly. 

resideiil id' llornick simv lsS| and is now sue- M ,.. 1 l,,.kcr was born in .\lloii, Illinois, .March 

eessfiilly engai;vil in ihe harness and saddlery -_ ps.-,;i. hi> pareiils bein- Ileye and Agatha 

business, having sceiiivd a good pal roiiage. He ^Mvcrl |:ecker. The fallicr wasa naliveof 

is progressive in his business methods, reliable Hanover, (Icrmany, and his wife was born in 

and eiiteri)rising, and is now numbered among ,i„, same neighborhood. Coming to the I'liited 

the leading mcrclianls of Ihe lowii. Siaics iliey c-lablisbed ilicir lioiiie in Hlinois 

Mr. llenderson has been niarried twice. On about l^.Mi, and ihe father died in riymouth 

ibe Isl of December. IMM;. he wedded l.illie county, Iowa. May '■>. IIMK',. al the advanced 

M. Sniilh. who died ( tclober S. I'.Mll. and in age of --evenly ei^lil year-. He wa> a i;e|>iib- 

I'.Mt.", he was joined in wedlock lo M r>. Mary lican in his ])oliiical \iew>, look an active in- 

Rosenberg. bi'lli marriages taking place in this lercsi in the work of his |iariy, was ndiablc in 

stale. He has irnveled considerably, having vis- business and devoted lo hi- family. He jios- 

ited Colorado for ihe benelil of his wife's sessed -iroiig doniesiic lasles and his iniercsts 

liealih, and also in ()reg,in. His poliiical sup- cenlered in his wife and cliildreii. He was 

liort is given llic Kcpnblican parlv ami socially called ii|ioii lo nioiirn the loss of Mrs. Heckcr 

lie is atlilialed wiih ihe I mlcpcndciit Order of when she was bin tliirly-tivi> years of age. They 

Odd Fellows. His religions f^dib is indicaled had a family of nine ehildreii. namely : Henry 

by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal S. ; William, who is living in Webster. South 

ehurch. in the work of which he is deejily in- 1 >akoia : John, n resident of Sioux Citv ; Frank, 

toresled. lie has eontribuicd to the various who is living on the home farm in Plymouth 

chureh activities and is a member of the Fp- coimiy. Iowa: Otto, of Seney, Towa ; Anna, the 

worlh Teague. Faithfulness in friendsliiii, wife of Herbert Tiuse, of rivmoulh. Towa; 



I'AST AMI I'|;KSI;N'I' of WOODIilKV COl'M'Y 15:! 

Minnie, llic wile u( |mv,I llilli.|,r:iii,|. ,,1' WrI, Krlick^ili-, ^iiid llic Caiih.n. lie i> ;i mrnilMT ,)f 

sicr, Suiilli |);ik.,|;i; I'jnniii : nnd llci-llni. Tlic I lie \\'(M.,|incii (if I lir World ..f Siiinx ( 'ii v, .•nnl 

liialcni:d f;|-:nHl niol lirr ( d' uiir >idijc<'l, llixlc llic KmvmI I Lii;ld;i iidcr>. \\r is :i man (if linr 

Mvcr, li\-cd willi llic lirckcr I'aniilv during Iiit sncinl qualities, al\\a\s i^cnial and a|i|ii'oaeli- 

lalei- years and allainecl ihe \cr\ ad\: I ai;e alile, and Wdddlmry ecuinty linds in liiin (Hie 

1)1' • linndi-ed and I lii'ee years and li\-e imml lis, \\ell worlliy (if |in|j|ie I laisl and inei-ilini;' llie 

Henry S. Heekei' |jiirsne(| lii> eilnealinn in "Hi'-ial lioncrs ihal have hi'en eonlVi-red npon 

the (■(iniiiMin scIkmiIs of All(jn, Illinois, and re- liim. 
liiiliiied n|jiin llie Imnie farm iinlil sixteen years 
of age, al'ler \\'lii<'li lie |iiirsiied a slairl ediirsc 
of St 11(1 V in the \\'esle\aii (ulleiie al Warreu- 

,,." •11,11 I M , ' cisoiMii-; w. i''i'r( iiXKu. 

toll, AIlSKdliri. lie llieii learneil I lie I'a r| leiil el' S 

trade and liei;aii ilraeliiii;' and linildinn', Iml ( Jeuri;!- W. l''il(diiier, ciiie id' llie |jromiiieiil 

when I Weill \- roiir \cars cd' af;e liu reinos'eil lo liiisiiiess iiicn (d' W'lioilluiiy <-()iiiily, who for tlie 

Leinars, I'lymoiilh eiMiiity, Iowa, where lie was past scv-en years has lieen aeli\-ely and siiecess- 

ideiilitied wilh liiiild iiit;' o])eratioiis for einiil, fully eii,i;ai^ed in nieridiandisiiif;- al Aiilhon, 

y<'ars, when he was injnre(l hy a fall ami I'rae- was lioi'ii in .Mnsealine eininly, Iowa, on the 

tiired his lireasi I ■. He aflerward lieiian Isih ,d' f'ehriia ry, IS.M;. 11 is I'.-ilher, .1. ('. 

inerehandisini; al Kiii;^sley, i'lymoiilh eoiinly, l''il(diiier, was a mil i\-e of ( ieriiiaii\ and in his 
Iowa, hut soon aflerward elosed out that biisi- (diihlliood days was hroiiiihl lo America. lie 
iiess and took charf;-e of a liiiTilier yard for M. A. Ii\ed for a lime in I'eiinsyUania ami after 
Moore, in Aloville, Woodlmry eoiiiily. 'I'hree ward in Ohio and in 1 s.".:. he eame lo |(jwa, set- 
years lia<l passed when he aii'ain eiij;aj;cd in lliiii;(jiia farm in M iiseal iiie eoiinly, where he 
hiisiness on his own aeeoiiiit as a hardware iiier- reared his family. 'I'lie falhi'r was married 
clianl and in |S'.>I he piil aside eommereial piir in I'ennsylvania lo .Miss I.avina .Mi-rarly, a 
suits in order lo eiiler pnlilie service, lieini;' ap- iialive of thai slale, who spent her lasl days iti 
poiiiled depiiiy I'oiiiiiy recorder under \V. (J. Mnscatiiie coiinly, where .Mr. Kilchiier is slill 
Hills, lie aeled in Ihal capacity for four years livinp; at the advanced ai;'e id' eifjhly four years, 
and in .Xovemher, IMIS, he was eh'cled lo llie |n llieir family were eleven childri'ii, ten of 
ollice on the llepniilicaii tii-kel hy a majority whom are yet li\iiii:: Mrs. (llilia Smith, who 
of o\'er eiiihteen hnndred. He has hi'cii nomi- is a widow and resides al Hock Island, Hliiiois; 
uali'd am! eleded lo this ollice for three sue .lonalliaii: I.avilia, llie wireol'dohli K'cehl, of 
oessive terms wilh a majority raiii^int;' from Ida (irove; Olto, who is livim;: in Miisi'aline 
eitilileen lo t wenly Ihree hnndreil. His present county; (ieorii'e W'.. cd' lliis revii'W ; Lucinda, 

inciimhency will i linue niilil .laniiary 1, thi' wife of Kichard llennell, who owns and 

I'.M).",. His re-eleclion is certainly an iiidica operates I he old fiteliner homestead : William, 

tion ,d' Ihe eoiiti<leiice re|)osed in him liy the who is a resident farnn'r of (Irani township, 

piihlic and also attesis his (pialilication for llie Woodlmry coiinly ; Mrs. .Mary .M illhousi', who 

position. i> a widow and li\cs in l<'airliehl, Iowa; Laura, 

.Mr. liecker was married, l-'ehruary -27, 1889, the wife of l''rank Hardaiii, now of Fulton, lili- 

lo .Miss Lillie M. Edwards, cd' .Maipioketa, iiois; and I'' rank, who is oiif]jnged in ranching 

Iowa. They have four children: Hazel .\., in Idaho. 

l\rimiie A., Conriff E. and Edward \l. .^^r. It was in Mnsealine c(jimty, Iowa, Ihat 

TJc^ker Ixdoiifis to Moville loiliic X,,. r.tl'.i, I, (). (ieorac W. iMlclmer sfieni llie days of his hoy- 

O. !•■., and also to the iMicampmeiit and iFie hood and youth and lie was early trained lo the 



I". VST AM) nii'isivXT Oh' \\()()|ll;^l;^ cdi nty 



liilmrs (if llic Ikhiic l':inii, i;i\iiig liis rallicf llic Wi.i.dljiirv (•(Hinlv. I»iiriiij; llii> |icri(Ml he lias 

liciK'lil i.f liis sc|-\ii-cs iiiilil he was twi'iilv lii'cii I liu|-(iiii:l]l v (■(iiniTsaiil willi llic iirrds and 

live vcars of ap'. lie llicii caiiic wrsi \n Wnod- |i( i^-ilii | ii ics cd' llic coiiiilv and has (■(,iii rilintcd 

Imi-v <Miniilv in l^^l', IcM^aiiiii; in ('(irrcclion his fnll share in ii- ii|iliiiihlini; and |inigrcss. 

\ illc, w here for I wo and a half vears he eii,i;a,i;vd A I I lie same I iiiie he has eondneled in siieccssflll 

in clerk inn', lliiis reeeixiiii^a llioroin^h Imsiness m; •!■ his |iri\ ale hiisiness inleresls ami he lias 

iraiiiiiiu. lie linn eiiiiai^cd in luisiness as a ihi' enler|n'isini; spirit so eliaraclerisi ie (,f iho 

ji'eiieral nierehanl al ( '<irreel ioiiville from JSSl wesl. To (hi y he is aeei led one id' llie miIi- 

nnlil |S!>7, when lie eaiiie In Anllion, openiiii;' slanlial ivsidenls of Anihon and is n man re- 

a slock of pioils in a slore which he now occil s|iccled liy all hecansc id' his lidelily lo li r- 

[lii's. lie |iiircliasci| a lar^c amoniil of ^viicral id,!,. |irinci|iles and lo liiiih ideals, 
mcrchandisi' and now has a doiihle slore, in 

w liich he carries an c\lcnsi\-e line of <i-ooils ihal, 

is well selcclcd. lie has a very cii\ialile re|ni- 
lalion for fair dcaliiii;' and his palroiia^' has 



.1011 \ 1;, (Ai;i'i';i:. 



reached la r-e and |irolilalile |iro|,orl ions, liissales J,,!,,, 1>. (arlcr, a |ira-l il inner al the Sioux 

amoiinliiiij,' lo from lifiy losixiy ihoiisand dol- cjiv i,ar, was hoiai in Lewis, I'lsscx county, 

lars annnally. Mr. l''ilclmcr was also one of ihe \,,\v y,,,.],, Jannary I, ISCl', his |iarenls lifiug 

liromolers of ihe .Merchanls Slale I'.ank al Cor- Mii,.|H'll and l''loren,-e ( T-olia ) ( ■arlcr, holii of 

rccli..ii\ ille and a sloekholdcr of ihe Cilizcns „T,,iii were nalivesof norlliern New \ «vk and 

Slale I'.ank of .\iilli,>n and has Ihiis heeii closely ^vere reinvscnl al i\cs of old families of llial 

ideiililied wilh linancial inleresls in ihecoiinly. slale. The fallier was a soldier of I he rnion 

He |,iirchaseil resilience |iro|ierly in .\iillion Army in ihe ('i\ il war, haviii-' enlisled in 

l"id dnrili,-' Ihe sexfii years in which lie has Aniiilsl, isrii.'. He was c ecled wilh ihe vol 

made his home here and has coiil riluili'd in nnlecr service and died in .\ndcrson\ ille, while 
lar^e and snl.slanlial measure lo ihe urowlli. hoiiii;' held as a |irisiiiier of war in I'^iU.al ihe 
pni-ress and n|lhnilllin^;■ id' llic conimnnily. a,i;c of forty fonr y<Mis. His « idow loiii;- sur- 
( )n the Isl of .laniiary, 1MI.">, in ('orreclion- \i\cd him, passini;' away in IMm;. at the aji'e 
\ille, Iowa. .Ml-. Kilchiicr was united in mar- of se\enlyoiii' years. They were the parents 
riaiiv to Miss I'.elle (irillilh, a native of Ohio. of nine children, of whom dohn 11. ( 'arler is 
who was reared in Iowa. She is a lady of i;-ooil the yoiuii;esl. Those yet li\ini;' are: .\. I'.., 
iMlncation and when siNleen years of aji'e lieii'au id' h'ssex county, .\'i'w York; (diaries !']., of 
teaching;- and successfully followi^d that profes- \'erinonl ; Mai'y .1., the wife of .\aron (loss, of 
sion for some I inie prioi- to liei' marriai^e. 'I'liere Morelown, \'ermont ; Susan S., who is li\'iii£; 
are two daiiiiiilcrs in the family, (^)ncssa and in Knlland, N'ermonl ; 11. M ., of ( diican'o, Illi- 
I.eila. rolilically Mr. I'dtchner li.-is hccn a nois ; and W. I'',., of Knlland. Of the two do- 
lifelong;' Kcpnlil icaii and has serxcd as a incm- ceased I., d. passed away .at the aiic id' Iwenty- 

hcr of tl oiiiicil of ( 'oia-cctionxillc for se\en two years, and Mstlici- \\. died at the aii'e of 

years. lie has also liceii a meinher of the thirty years. 

school hoard and he exercises his ollicial pre- d,,hn K. Cartel- piirsned his early education 

i-opilives to advance the -vneral welfare. Ilo in tlir villa.-e schools of Lewis, New ^'ork. ami 

and his wife and dauiihters are ineudHTs of the aUo attended the I'nion hidi schoid al Eliza- 

Mclhodisi i-lpiscopal church. Uc has l.een a h, tlitown, that slale, while later lie conliuuorl 

resident of Iowa throiii^hont liis entire life and his studies in a pri\aic |n-cparatoi-y school. lie 

for twenlv four vears has made his liomc iu look ini llie sindv of law in I'-iS] in the offico 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



lo? 



of Xoble \- Sinitli, attorneys for the Central 
Vermont Railroad Company at St. Albans, 
Vermont, and continued Avitli that firm nntil 
1884. He then entered the Boston Universiiy 
Law School, at Boston, ilassachusetts, in which 
institution he was graduated in June, ISSo, 
with the degree of Bachelor of Law. In the 
autumn of the same year he came to Sioux City 
and uj)on examination in the suijreme court of 
Iowa was admitted to practice in the courts of 
this state, in 188C, since which time he has 
been in continuous and active connection with 
the legal interests of Sioux City. He was first 
associated with J. P. Blood, under the firm 
name of Blood & Carter, in 1886-7. Later he 
was alone until he formed a partnership with 
A. D. Tollefson, under the name of Tollefson 
A: Carter, and subsequently they were joined 
by J. ~M. Brown, the firm of Tollefson, Carter 
ic Brown then maintaining a continuous exist- 
ence until ISIM). In that year the senior part- 
ner retired and the firm was Carter i: Brown 
tmtil 1898. Mr. Carter then entered into part- 
nershij) relations with J. H. Quick, and under 
the style of Quick & Carter continued in prac- 
tice until 1902. He is now alone in bttsiness 
and is conducting an extensive and successful 
civil law practice. For ten years the firm of 
Carter 6j Brown represented the Xew England 
Loan (t Trust Company, and !Mr. Carter had 
charge of its litigation in northwestern Iowa, 
northeastern Xebraska, the southwestern ]iart 
of South Dakota and southern Minnesota. He 
also had a large general laAV business and in 
his capable control of intricate litigated in- 
terests displayed an accurate and broad knowl- 
edge of the principles of ]\irisprudence and 
great accuracy in applying these to the points 
of his case in court. 

Prior to the convening of the twenty-ninth 
general assembly ifr. Carter received an in- 
quiry from a party in Indiana, asking him for 
knowledge concerning the latest codification of 
the statute law and where he could find the 
legislative enactments subsequent to tjie codi- 



fication of the laws and the rejJorts concerning 
the decisions construing the laws. He also in- 
(piired of Mr. Carter concerning any contem- 
plated new codification of the laws. 3tr. Car- 
ter reidied, referring him to the 1897 code, the 
acts of the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth 
general assemblies of Iowa and to the Iowa 
reports and Northwestern Bejiorter containing 
the decisions of the supreme court of Iowa con- 
struing the laws. Mr. Carter upon consulting 
the act for the codification of laws known as 
Code, Iowa, 1897, discovered and so advised 
him that the twenty-ninth general assembly, 
then about to convene, and every third general 
assembly thereafter was charged with the duty 
of electing an editor whose duty it was to 
codify in supplement form the laws of a puljlio 
nature enacted since the code of 1897, includ- 
ing the acts of the twenty-nintli general assem- 
bly. Later Mr. Carter called the attention of 
Senator E. H. Hubbard and Representative 
]\r. J. Sweeley to this provision. They after- 
ward proposed that Mr. Carter become editor 
of the code sitpplement and consenting to this 
early in the session of the general assembly he 
was elected as editor. The proficiency with 
which he performed his duties is perhaps best 
told by the committee in the prefatory of the 
code supplement and from which we quote the 
following: "rnder the ])rnvision the cunnuit- 
tec has had general supervision of the work. 
^Ir. Carter has made copy, compared with the 
enrolled bills, prepared the tables, revised, en- 
larged and materially improved the index, an- 
notated the negotiable investments laws, read 
the proof, and in short performed his duties 
in a most satisfactory manner." The work has 
l)con received most favoral)]y in every respect 
and has met with nothing Imt ]>raise and words 
of commendation. 

~Slr. Carter was married in 1SS9 to Miss 
Lnella Waldorf, a daughter of Louis and Co- 
lumbia Waldorf, of ^Nfontello, Wisconsin. Thev 
have one child, Francis W. They also lost a 
son, John ]\raurice, who died in 1S92 at the 



158 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODTiFUV COFXTY 



age of fourteen mouths. Mr. and iLrs. Carter 
are well and favorably known in the social 
circles of Sioux City, where he has resided con- 
tinuously since 1886, and he has a still wider 
acquaintance in legal ami political circles 
throughout the state, where his influence and 
laliors have hccu df nnicli avail in promoting 
the pul)lic welfare. 



('. C. CASTLE. 



C. C. Castle, who is now living a i-etired life 
in Correetion\ille, was for a number of years 
one of the thrifty and enterprising farmers of 
Woodbury county and is numbered among the 
early settlers of the state, having resided with- 
in the borders of Iowa since 1803. In 1866 
he came to this cdntity and through a long per- 
iod carried on the work of ciiltivating and 
improving his farm. He is a native of Xew 
York, his birth having occurred in Tioga coim- 
ty, July 20, 182.3. His father, Samuel Castle, 
was born in the same state and after arriving 
at years of maturity was married there to Lu- 
cetta Girdley, a native of Connecticut, born 
near ISTew Haven. The father carried on fai-m- 
ing in Tioga county. Our subject's grandfath- 
er, Daniel Castle, was born in London, En- 
gland, in \~'<^ and came to America aboiit 
177."). He made his home in Tioga county, 
K'ew York, until ls:!6, when he sold his prop- 
erty there anil rcniovccl U> Erie county, Penn- 
sylvania, where his death oecnrred in 18-1:5. 

C. C. Castle obtained a conmion school edu- 
cation, but his ailvantages in that direction were 
rather meager and his knowledge has been 
lai'gely self-acquired since he attained his ma- 
jority. He removed from JSTew York to Erie 
county, Pennsylvania, and was married in that 
county on the IDth of ISTovember, 1845, to Miss 
Xancy 'M. Everts, whose birth occurred in 
Edinlmrg, Montgomery county, ISTew York. 
Her father was Reuben Everts, a native of Ver- 



mont. The young cou2)le began their domestic 
life u[ion a farm in Erie county and subse- 
quently removed to Potter county, where they 
remained for several years. In 1863 they came 
to Iowa, establishing their home in Buchanan 
county, where Mr. Castle carried on farming 
for three years and then came to Woodbury 
county, arriving here in 1866. He settled in 
L'nion township, homesteading one hundred and 
sixty acri'S of raw land, on which no imjirove- 
meuts had as yet l)een made. Soon the track 
of the shining ]ilow was seen across the fields 
and he continued to break and cultivate his land 
until he had developed a fine farm. He first 
li\cd in a block house, which had i^reviously 
ser\'ed as a fort from which the settlers had 
fought the Indians. He purchased the build- 
ing at Correctionville and moved it to his place, 
occupying it as a residence for several years. 
Later he erected good modern farm buildings, 
made many substantial improvements and suc- 
cessfully carried on the work of cultivating his 
crojDS until about 1883, when he removed to 
Correctionville and purchased the home which 
he now occupies. He has since bought lots 
and built three good residences and he owns 
altogether five dwellings in this city. His ef- 
forts in behalf of the town and its development 
have been effective and far-reaching. During 
his residence here he has followed various pur- 
suits including pai)er hanging and painting, 
lie has ever li\-ed an active and useful life, 
has enjoyed good health and is now eighty -one 
years of age. 

Unto Mr. and ilrs. Castle have been born 
eight children, six of whom are now living: 
H. A., who is married and follows blacksmith 
ing in Barton county, Missouri; George L., of 
Correctionville; Eva G., the wife of J. M. 
Warren, a painter and paper hanger of Chero- 
kee, Kansas; Ida, the wife of G. S. Wetmore, 
of Rock Branch, Woodbury county; Flora, the 
wife of F. W. Miller, of Union township; and 
Walter, who owns and operates the old home 
farm. They also lost two children, Horace, 




MR. AND MES. C. C. CASTLE. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



1«1 



who died iu infancy ; and JSJettie, who died 
at the age of two years. 

Politically Mr. Castle is a stanch Ecpubli- 
can, but his first presidential ballot was cast 
for James K. Polk. He supported Lincoln in 
1860 and from the organization of the party- 
has never faltered in his allegiance of its prin- 
ciples. While living on the farm he served 
for three years as justice of the peace, was 
also a member of the school board and took an 
active and helpful interest in securing good 
teachers and thus having good schools. He 
was also assessor at one time. He and his 
wife are members of the Correctionville Con- 
gregational church, in which he takes a very 
active and helpful part. Mr. Castle is one of 
the worthy pioneer settlers of northwestern 
Towa, and has seen almost the entire develop- 
ment of tliis portion of the state. When he 
came here lands were unfenced, roads had not 
been laid out and the prairies were still in 
their primitive condition. But there came to 
northwestern Iowa a class of enterprising citi- 
zens wild have ddiie their best to promote puhlic 
progress and iniiivoA-enient here with the result 
that their labors have jilm-ed Woodlmrv county 
in the front rank anioui;- tlic Icadinn- counties 
of this great coniinoinvcaltli. 



LEVI LEEK. 



Thirty years have come and gcjue since Levi 
Leek came to Woodbury county. Great changes 
have occurred iu the county since that time, 
progi'css lun-inii' been iiiadc along agriiMiltural 
and commercial lines, and also notable advance- 
ment in other ways, which indicate a high order 
of civilization. Tliere has also been much 
change in the financial condition of ^fr. Leek 
and this has been due to bis own persistent 
eiTort, laudable ambition and strong determina- 
tion, for as the years have )>assed he has worked 
his way upward to success. He owns a good 



farm uf eighty acres on section 19, Union 
township, and upon this is a comfortable home. 

Mr. Leek is a native of Illinois, born in 
Tazewell county on the I'lst of November, 
1852. His fatiier, I.evi Leek, Sr., died during 
the boyhood of his son and namesake. He had 
been an early settler of Tazewell comity, Illi- 
nois, and became noted as a luinler. He killed 
a large number of deer in that early day when 
those animals roamed in herds over the wild 
prairies, and great numbers of turkeys and 
other wild game fell before his trusty rifle. 

Levi Leek of tliis review was reared in the 
county of his nativity, in the ustial manner of 
farmer lads of that period, and when not en- 
gaged with the duties of the schoolroom in ac- 
quiring a practical English education his labors 
were largely devoted to the work of the farm. 
As a companion and helpmate on life's journey 
he chose iliss Anna Coe and they were married 
iu Stark county, Illinois, February 18, 1874. 
She was born in Steuben county, Indiana, a 
cbiiiiiiiter of William L. Coe, who was a native 
of Lngiaud. born near Newcastle, in which 
country be wedded Miss Mary Atkinson, also 
a native of that country. After their marriage 
ibcy took uj) their abode in England and con- 
tinued there until after tiie birth of six of their 
children. They then emigrated to America, 
settling first in Michigan and afterward remov- 
ing to Steuben county, Indiana. Subsequently 
they became residents of Illinois, making their 
home in Stark (■(jiuity. 

The day following their marriage ^Ir. and 
;Mrs. Leek packed their household goods into 
a wagon and started for Iowa. It was a long, 
hard trip, Ijut at length the journey was ac- 
comidished in safety. Mr. Leek here joined 
two brothers and a sister of his wife, who had 
jireviously established homes in this state. For 
eight years he was engaged iu the operation of a 
rented fiii'iii ami then |iiirchased eighty acres 
<in section I'.*, Union township, where he has 
since lived. The laud was tincultivated when it 
came into bis )iossession, but he soon placed it 



1()-.' 



PAs'i' AMt i'i;i:si:\T mf woudhiuv iointy 



inidrr llic [iliiw, ami tin' >iiiiniicr"s sun rijiciiiiig 
tlir iiraiii, which sjiriuin' up fmui rhi' sctM.l that 
he iilaiitcil, transforuKMl his crtnrfs inio i^imkI 
harvests. He has huilt a sulistaiil iai house u|)iiii 
his place with a basement undefiieath, has also 
put up good harns, has t'enccci his land in a 
splendid inaiinci- and indeed is jitstlv regafdeil 
as one of the |ii-(igre»iw and entei-prising farm- 
ers and stoek-raisers of Union township. 

Mr. and Airs. Leek have three sous, Leroy, 
Leslie and Elhert, who are vet at home with 
their jiarents. Air. Leek is a memher of the 
Indepen<lent Order of (),hl Fellows and has 
rilled all of the ehairs and is a jiast grand mas- 
ter of the lodge at Pierson. He is likewise 
identified with the encampment and he and his 
wife are connected with the Order of Rebekahs, 
and Airs. Leek has filled all of the positions in 
the auxiliary. He belongs to the Alodern Wood- 
men of America and in his jiolitical affiliation 
is an earnest Republican. He has been elected 
and served in several jiositioiis of jniblic honor 
and trust, was for ten consecntive years town- 
ship assessor and was township trustee for two 
terms. He has been a delegate to numerous 
county conventions and his pttblic-spirited citi- 
zenship is manifest in the active support and co- 
operation wdiich lie gives to measures that are 
deemed essential to progress and iinpro\-enient 
here. 



CHKLSTEX AXDRKAS HXI) OLSOX. 

The students of Ameriean histoiw who watidi 
the trend of events and the signs of the times 
and who have watched with interest the work of 
different nationalities in the new world, all 
imite in bearing evidence to the value of the 
people of Xorway as an element in our Ameri- 
can citizenshi]). The great northwest has largely 
been peopled' by the representatives of the land 
of the midnight sun — men of sttirdy, honest 
race, who lia\-e wrought a nnirvelous develop- 
ment in this jiortion of the country, jiromoting 



its material, intcdlectual and moral welfare. 
To this (dass belongs Mv. Olson, who, coming 
to this e(.iuutry empty handeil, has steadily 
worked his way upward through energy and 
perseverance and at the same time has ever 
fully ]ierforme(l his jiart as a loyal and pro- 
gressive citizen of the eoniinunity in which he 
ri'siiles. 

Air. Olson was born in the city of Skein, 
Xorway, December 1, IS.'iS, and is descended 
from the Xorse vikings. He was only about 
seven years of age at the time of his parents' 
death and he and his h\-e brothers were thus 
orphaned. He was the second in order of birth. 
Four of the sons are now in this c<inntry: An- 
ton, who is in the employ of the gcjvernment at 
^lilwaukee, Wisconsin: ]\Iartin, who is treas- 
urei- of Pidk c(junty, Wisconsin; John P., who 
t<illows farming near Sloan, Woodbury coiiuty, 
nnd has servei] as supervisor: ami (.'hristen A. 
L. Olson. Two brothers remain in the old 
country. One is a sea captain and harbor mas- 
ter in Skein, and the yoitngest briither is now- 
one of the le;nling physicians of Xorway. When 
a boy he went to li\-e with an uncle, an old sea 
ca])tain, who gave him his name — lugobi-ed 
Holm. Lie established a great summer resort 
wdiere there were three springs, which he dis- 
covered possessed excellent medicinal quali- 
ties if used for bathing ]iur])oses. The springs 
were given him that he might build and furnish 
bathhouses there. This he did and has also 
estalilislied a great bathing |)lace at Christiana. 

( '. .\. L. ()lsou. leax'ing school at the age of 
fourteen years, went to sea, making his first 
tri|i in IS.'n'. He afterward studied naviga- 
tion and completed his course by gradtiatiou in 
the spring of IS.'iS. It was in June, 1860, that 
he came to the United States, locating in Alil- 
watikee, AVisconsin. where he continued his 
seafaring life as a sailor on the lakes until 
IStiT. He then came to Iowa, settling in Fair- 
^•iew township, Alonona county, where he jjur- 
chased a tract of land and developed a farm, 
continuino- its cultivation and imi>rovenient 



PAST AXD PKKSKXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



163 



until 1881, wlu'ii he tnuk up his alMiiU^ iii Shiiui, 
Woodbury county. There he engaged in gen- 
eral merchandising, also dealing in farm im- 
plements and grain, l)Ut when elected county 
auditor he sohl his store and came to Sioux 
City. His first official service had been that 
of school director, to which jjosition he was 
elected for a term of two yeai-s while living in 
Fairview fowns]ii|i. He was also assessor there 
for one tt'rm and while in Sloan served as school 
director, acting as president of the board for 
six years. He ^vas also elected coiincilman 
when the town was incorj)orated and was ap- 
pointed fire chief and organized the Sloan fire 
department. In IS'.Il' he was elected auditor 
of AVoodbury county and in January, IS'.i;;. 
removed to Sioux City and enterecl upon the 
discharge of the duties of the office, in which 
he was continued for three terms, being twice 
re-elected — a fact which in<licates that he was 
a most cajiable official, ilischargiiig his duties 
with ]n-oni])tness and fidelity. He was elected 
alderman at large in IHOO and again in 1902, 
his second term expiring in the spring of l!t04. 
His ])oliticttl su])port has always been given the 
Re])idilicau party. During his residence in 
Sioux City lie has also been identifie<l with 
business interests here. He was at one time 
owner of the business conducted under the 
name of ilu' Hawkeye Fuel Supply Com]iany, 
but s<ild out in lOflo. Six years ago he pur- 
chased a farm of two hundred acres, and to its 
snjiervision he <levotes his time and attention. 
ilr. Olson was married in ililwankee, Wis- 
consin, I)eceiiibci- 11. ISCT. to ^liss Alvilde 
Claudia Tiasmusscn, who was born in Rudk- 
jobing, Langelaud, Denmark, December 111, 
IS-K!, a daughter of Carl Fbnnarion and Doris 
(ifatzen) Rasmnssen. Slie came to America 
in ISfi-t, and by her marriage has become the 
mother of ten children: Sarah, who is now in 
the county auditor's office; Flla, who is teach- 
ing in a seminary in Halifax, Xova Scotia; 
John A.; ('arl, who is a member of the firm of 
Olson brothers, orocers of Sioux Citv; Oscar, 



in Des iloines; Carrie and Clarence, both of 
this city ; Edwin, who is associated with his 
l)rother Carl in the grocery business and is also 
in Everest's coal office as bookkeeper; Robert 
and Dora, at home on the farm. 

ilr. and Mrs. Olson are members of the Xor- 
wegian Lutheran church but attend services at 
the English Lutheran church in Sioux City. 
They have a fine home at i' 1 1 1 l)(mglas street 
and his property intei-ests are indicative of his 
life of thrift, industry and able management of 
his business affairs. His c(mrse in America has 
always been such as to command for him the 
respect and good will of his fellow men, and in 
Woodbury county he is innnbered as a foremost 
citizen, whose labors have been of value in 
commuuitv afi'airs. 



F. :\r. DOVE. 



For fifteen years tliis gentlenuin has nuide his 
home in Woodbury county and has been actively 
identified with the business interests of Dan- 
burv, where he now makes his home. He was 
born in uiu'thwesti'rn Kentucky on the 15th of 
Xovendx'r, 1S4:.">, and is a son of John and 
Susan ( Develin ) Dove. The father died before 
the birth of our subject and he was only six 
years old when his mother passed away. Dur- 
ing the Civil war he espoused the LTnion cause 
and in 1863 enlisted in the Seventeenth Illinois 
Cavalry, with which he served for two years 
and eight months, being discharged at Spring- 
field, Illinois, in 186.5. 

The following year ^Ir. Dove came to Iowa 
and has since luade his home in this state. He 
was married in 1872 to ]kliss Sarah Jane Taft, 
a native of Illinois, whose parents came from 
Xcw York state. Three children blessed this 
union, namely: Mrs. Anna Weir, Mrs. Odie E. 
Rnm])le and Frank A. The older daughter is 
now engaged in tlie confectionery business in 
Danburv and also deals in bakerv goods and 



164 



PAST AND rUKSE.N'L' OF WOODBl'K'Y COUNTY 



groceries, while j\lr. J)ove now devotes his at- 
tention to the real-estate and exdun igc l)iisiiiess. 
Fraternall}', Mr. Dove is an hniKircd iiu'iiilier 
of the Grand Army of the Republic and imliti- 
callv lie is identified with the Dcmocratie ])arfy. 
Uf lias Ix'cn a strong- Brvan man and in l'.M)4 
advocatcci the n(iniinati(in of Mr. Ih-arsi for 
])residcnl. He has licld local ofHccs and his 
olheial dnlios were always caiiaMy and satisfac- 
torily performed. 



i.rTnp:R c. saxborx. 

Luther ('. Sanliorn, honored and respected as 
one of the most succcssfnl liusincss men of 
Sioux ('ity. was a jiionccr Inndicr merchant and 
nKUinfaclurer of this portion of the counti'y, 
and as a niendier of the firm of Sanhorn & Fol- 
letl fstalilished many Inniher mills and thns 
promoted an industrial atiivity ihat proved of 
tlie iiTcatest l)enefit to the I'cgion. Business en- 
tei'|irise is the liainhnaiden <if cix'ilization, for 
the estahlishment < d' couimercial and industrial 
interests is always tdosely followed by the in- 
troduction of all the improvements and advan- 
tages known to an ailvaneeil civilization, and 
as tlie ]iioueei' in the lumber business of north- 
westei'u Iowa .Mr. Sanbcuai did nnich toward 
laying the foundation lor the present progress 
and prosperity of his adojited city and state. 

.Mr. Sanluu'ii was a young man of twenty- 
nine years when, in IS.'iCi, he arrived in Sioux 
City. His bii'tli occurred in ('hester. .\ew 
Ilam|ishire. .\pril I'S, I'sl'7, his parents being 
Ixnfus and Betsey (Fitz) Sanborn, lioth of 
wh(>m \\-ere natives of Xew Hampshii-e. The 
father spent his entire life in that state and 
thronghont his business caroler engaged in farm- 
ing. His widow, coming to the west, died at 
the home of lu'r sou in Tabor, Iowa. There 
were six childi'en in the family, of whi>m two 
are living: Dr. J. F. Sanborn, formerly a dent- 
ist of Tallin-, Towa, ami later of llnntinglou, 
Indiami, and Frank Sanborn, of ( 'olorado. 



Those deceased are: Lnther C; Fannie, wife 
(d' .lolm (_!reen; ^Lrs. [Mary Cox, who lived in 
( 'olorado : and J. 11., who was mayor and a very 
prouiinent citizen of Yankton, South Dakota, 
when- he died. 

After attending the connnon schools of (.'hes- 
ter, Xew Ilampsliire, Lutlier C. Sanborn be- 
came a sttulent in a college in Xew Hamp- 
shire, from which he was graduated. He 
began teaching in his native state and fol- 
lowed that ])rofession in nniny snuill towns 
of Xew Hampshire jn-ior to his removal to the 
west. A mental review of tlie possibilities and 
Opportunitit's afl'oi-ded by the east and the west 
determined him that he might enjoy superior 
advantages in Iowa, which was then rapidly 
developing, so nniking his way to Sioux ('ity 
he kept pace in his business career with its 
rapid ])rogress, develo])ing a business in ]iroi)or- 
fion to the increase <d' tln> town and also extend- 
ing his ett'orts into other districts. lie entered 
into partnership with -Indson Follett, a sketch 
and jiicture of wliom are given elsewhere in this 
vediime. They established a lumber btisiness 
in Sionx City and btiilt mills here and in many 
other places, becoming known as ]iicnieer lum- 
bennen ami the most extensive dealers in their 
line in this part of tin- country. ^Tr. Sanborn 
continued in active connection with the business 
until his death, and his sound business judg- 
ment, foresight, energy and recognition of possi- 
ibilities were among the strong elements in the 
success which attended the tirm. The business 
relations of the partners were most harnumious, 
and the labiu-s of the one ably sttp]ilemented the 
efi'orts of the other, thus constituting a strong 
firm. The house liore an unassailable reptita- 
tion in trade circles and the \'olnme id' business 
constantly increased but ^Ir. Sanborn n<-ver al- 
lowed the accumulation id' wealth to affect in 
any way his actions toward tlii>se who were less 
fortunate Hnancially. He stood in his later 
years, when sui-rouuili'd by a handsome eom- 
|ietence, just wliei-e he stood when a young man 
with few pecnniai-y resources — for all that is 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



167 



ennobling and uplifting in life and for honor- 
able, straightforward dealings and actions be- 
tween man and man. 

Mr. Sanborn was married in Somerville, 
Massachusetts, to Miss Augusta Frances Wood- 
bury, of Boston, Massachusetts, who died in 
Sioux City. She was a daughter of Thomas 
and Martha Woodbury. There were two chil- 
dren of that marriage: Helen Augusta, who 
died in 1873, at the age of eight years, and 
Woodbury, a prominent business man of Sioux 
City of the firm of Woodbury Sanborn, dealer 
in coal, wood, lime, cement and other building 
materials. In 1879 Mr. Sanborn was again 
married, his second wife being Miss Mary Hel- 
en Green, a native of Waltham, Massachusetts, 
and a daughter of George and Mary H. (Dix) 
Green, who were also boru in that state. Her 
father was a member of the Boston Manufac- 
turing Company, dealers in cloth in Boston, 
and both he and his wife died in the east. Unto 
Mr. Sanborn and his second wife was born a 
son, Arthur Green, who died at the age of 
five months. 

ilr. Sanborn passed away December 22, 
1901. There were many traits in his character 
which endeared him to those with whom he 
came in contact, which won him the respect of 
his business associates and the confidence of 
his employes and made him a man among men, 
whose life record is Avorthy of emulation. In 
the early days he was a member of the city 
council of Siotix City and he always took a 
deep and helpful interest in her welfare and 
upbuilding. For ten years he served on the 
school board and he gave to the Democracy his 
political allegiance. He was a member of St. 
Thomas Episcopal church, to which his widow 
belongs, and he took great interest in church 
work and the extension of its influence. As 
the years went by he not only grew in wealth, 
but in character and in the regard of his fellow 
men, and when death came his host of friends, 
as well as his immediate family, felt that they 
were bidding adieu to one of Woodbur" 



county's most valuable citizens. Mrs. Sanborn 
owns and occupies a beautiful residence at JN^o. 
1401 Pierce street and will continue to make 
her home in the city where she is so well and 
favorablv known. 



S. H. SANTFE. 



S. 11. Santee, one of Woodbury county's most 
prumiueut and prosperous young farmers and 
stock-raisers, was born on the 15th of February, 
1871, in Monongalia county. West Virginia, 
and is a son of A. J. and Lou (Shriver) Santee, 
also natives of that county, the former of 
French and the latter of German descent. The 
father was born in 1828 and continued to make 
his home in West Virginia until 1885, which 
year witnessed his arrival in Woodbury county, 
Iowa. On the 31st of January, 1889, he organ- 
ized the Danbury State Bank, of which he ia 
now vice-pi"esident, and his son, I. B., is cashier. 
In early life he made farming his principal 
occupation and in his business undertakings has 
met with most gratifying success. He is a rep- 
resentative Virginian, of the old-school style 
of gentleman, and although he is now seventy- 
six years of age, he is still hale and hearty and 
able to attend to his business affairs, but leaves 
the active management of the farm and bank to 
his sons. His career has ever been such as to 
command the respect and confidence of the busi- 
ness world and he is held in the highest regard 
by all who know him. He lives with our sub- 
ject ujjon the home farm, his wife having died 
in 1889 at the age of fifty-five years. In their 
family were three sons but one is now deceased, 
those living being I. B., of Danbury; and S. 
H., of this review. 

S. H. Santee came with his parents to this 
county and has spent his entire life upon the 
old homestead west of Danbury, which is one 
of the best appointed stock farms in Woodbury 
county. It consists of four hundred acres of 
splendid bottom and hill land, well improved 
~^ith good and substantial buildings, which can 



168 



PAST AND PRESENT f)P WOODBTTRY COUNTY 



be seen for miles around. Besides the barns and 
other outbniklings there are cattle-sheds and 
three large feeding-pens, for here stock-raising 
is carried on quite extensively, there being 
aboiit four hundred and fifty head of fine cattle 
upon the place. Mr. Santee shijjped sixteen 
carloads in the spring of 1903 and ten carloads 
in the fall of the same year. There are few 
young men in the county that have had as ex- 
tended a business exjjerience as he and have met 
with such success, for he attends to all the de- 
tails of the large stock business in which he is 
interested, herding, feeding, shipping and sell- 
ing all the cattle raised upon the farm. 

On the 28tli of Sejitemlier, 1893, Mr. Santee 
was uniteil in marriage to iliss Mary Virtue, 
a daughter of John Virtue, who was a soldier 
of the Civil war and was one of the many citi- 
zens that the Keystone state has furnished to 
Iowa. Three children bless this union: Louis 
H. ; I. Benton, who was named for his illustri- 
ous uncle. Colonel I. B. Santee, of Danbury; 
and John. In his social relations our subject 
is a Koyal Arch Mason. The family to which 
he belongs has been one of prominence in the 
community for many years, its members stand- 
ing high lioth in business and social circles. 



JOHN BECK. 



John Beck, connected with the industrial in- 
terests of Sioux City as a contractor and build- 
er, has made his home in this city for more than 
four decades, and his operations along con- 
structive linos have resulted in public benefit 
as well as individual prosjDerity. He was born 
in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in 1833, 
a son of Nicholas and Margaret Beck, both of 
whom came from Germany in 1832 and locat- 
ed in Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer 
by occupation and throughout his remaining 
days devoted his attention to agricultural pur- 
suits in the Keystone state. He passed away 
in 1879, in his eightieth vear, and his wife 



died at the age of seventy-two years. He was 
the elder of two children and was only twelve 
years of age at the time of his father's death, 
whereby he was thrown ujjon his own resources, 
so that whatever success he achieved was the 
direct result of his own labor. 

John Beck, reared and educated in Penn- 
sylvania, left home in the spring of 1857. He 
had previously learned the carpenter's trade 
in his native state, and on emigrating westward 
he took up his abode in the embryo county seat 
of Woodbury county and has since been a fac- 
tor in the building operations in Sioux City. 
He built many of the original homes and has 
erected some of the prominent public buildings, 
including the Academy of Music, at the corner 
of Fourth and Pearl streets, the E. R. Kirk's 
residence in 1867; the Shewline building, at 
the corner of Pearce and Fourth streets ; the 
row of buildings from Douglas street to the 
allej' on Fourth street ; the Oilman block ; the 
residence and business block of Daniel Hedges ; 
the elevator ;it the city mills ; the Wales block 
and others. At one time he operated the plan- 
ing mill known as the Sparks planing mill, now 
called the Cvirtis Sash & Door Company, of 
which he became owner in 1871. He was 
alone in the business for two years and then 
sold oiit to Andrews & Fletcher. Early build- 
ing operations and industrial interests were 
greatly promoted by him and he did much in 
behalf of his city. 

In 1857 Mr. Beck was united in marriage to 
Miss Nancy Culbertson, of Somerset county, 
Pennsylvania, and their children are Irene, 
Maggie, Eva and William Edwin. The family 
attend the Presbyterian church, of which Mr. 
Beck has been a member since 1859, and in 
its different branches of activity he has taken 
a deep interest. While also actively interested 
in community affairs and desirous for the ad- 
vancement of the city along material, social, 
intellectual and moral lines, he has never sought 
or desired political office, although at one time 
he was a member of the city council. 









r 1 



MES. JOHN BECK. 




JOHN BECK. 



PAST AND PJIESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



173 



JOHN A. WOOD. 

John A. Wood is one of the most enterprising 
and i)rogressive citizens in his section of Wood- 
bury county. He is engaged in niercliandising 
in Jiock J]ranch as ]>ro])rietor of a grocery store, 
where he has can'icd <in l>nsiness foi' the past 
twenty-four years. lie is also ich'iil iticd with 
many otiier interests of a conimci-cial and in- 
dustrial nature and tiie activity of the village 
is largely promoted through his efforts. 

Mr. Wood is a native son of Tnwa, his birth 
having occurred in Tama county on the 11th of 
April, 1858. His father, Alfred Wood, Avas a 
native of ^lassachusetts and in that state was 
reared. When a ynung man he nia<le his way 
to the west, settling in j\Iichigau, and abotit 
1854 or 1855 he came to Iowa, locating in 
Tama county, where he secured a tract of new 
land and developed a farm. It was there he 
reared his family. He was twice married, his 
second wife being Sevena Bevan, whom he 
married in Iowa City, while serving on the jury 
at that place. She was a native of England 
and came to the United States when a young 
lady of seventeen years with an aunt and some 
Mormon emigrants. She left the company, 
however, and married Mr. Wood in Iowa City. 
There were eight sons and one dangiiter burn 
of this marriage, namely: John A., of this re- 
view, who is the eldest; Lorenzo, of Tama 
county; Sherman, who resides in ilinnesota ; 
A]i)ert, of Calhiiun county, Iowa; Arthur, of 
Tama county ; Beatrice, the wife of Eoland 
Wifwer, of Tama county; and Fred, of Tama 
county. There is also a half brother, Charles 
Wood, of Tama county, who is engaged in the 
real-estate business. The other members of the 
family have passed away. 

John A. Wood had but limited school privi- 
leges, for at an early age he began to earn his 
own living. When a lad of thirteen years he 
entered a printing office, serving a regular ap- 
]irenticeship at that trade, and his experience 
there gained added so greatly to the knowdedge 
that he had acquired in school that he was qtiali- 



fied for teaching and for several terms followed 
that profession in Tama and in W^oodbury coun- 
ties. He arrived in this county in 1878 and dur- 
ing the summer months he engaged at farm 
labor, while in the winter seasons he tatight 
school. In 1880 he built a business house in 
Rock Branch and ojx'ued a stock of groceries, 
continuing in that trade in or near liis present 
location for almost a quarter of a century. He 
has secured a good patronage l)y honorable 
methods, reasonable prices and an earnest de- 
sire to please his customers. Mr. Wood is also 
a natural mechanic and about 1890 he btiilt a 
blacksmith and re])air shop adjacent to his store 
and with the assistance of two sons he conducts 
business in that way. He likewise has a job 
jirinting press in his store and also does work 
in that line. In connection with A. W. Hat- 
field and his son Wesley he was one of the pro- 
moters of the rural telephone exchange, put in 
a number of miles of line and many telephones. 
This has become an important enterprise to the 
rural community. ^Ir. Wood is indeed a suc- 
cessful, all-around business man, well informed 
concerning the stock market. He possesses a 
retentive memory and has a broad fund of gen- 
eral information. 

.Mr. Wood was nutrried in Wofidbury coimty, 
December 25, 1870, the lady of his choice being 
]\[iss Mary Wilcox, who was born in Clinton 
county, Iowa, and is a daughter of John Wil- 
cox, a native of Illinois, wdio when a young man 
came to this state and was married here to Ellen 
May. He removed from Clinton cotmty to 
Woodliurv county and here reared his family. 
!Mr. and [Mrs. Wood are the parents of seven 
children, six of whom are living: Walter, a me- 
chanic and horseshoer, Avho works in his 
father's Idacksmith shop ; Florence, the wife of 
George Bare, a resident farmer of Woodbury 
county, by wdiom she has a daughter, Effie; 
Wesley A., Pearl, Kobert and Violet. They 
also lost one son, John, who died in infancy. 

^fr. Wood has been a life-long Reptiblican 
and takes quite an active part in politics. He was 



174 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



appointed postmaster at Hock Branch in 1880, 
and has since served the people in that capacity 
with the exception of a brief period of eleven 
mouths. He also was elected and served as 
towushij) collector and as township clerk, was 
secretary of the school board and has been a 
delegate to a number of connty conventions of 
his party, ilrs. Wood is a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church and ^Ir. Wood is a Mas- 
ter Mason, belonging to the lodge at Correction- 
ville. He is also connected with the Modern 
Woodmen of America. His activity in busi- 
ness, his capability along many lines and his 
strong and honorable j^urpose have been the sa- 
lient features in his career and have led to his 
prosperity. He is indeed well known as a lead- 
ing citizen of his part of the county and as such 
well deserves representation in this volume. 



J. C. C. HOSKIXS. 



J. C. C. Hoskins was born under the west- 
ern shadow (if the White mountains, at Lynum, 
Grafton county, Xew Hampshire, on the 18th 
day of January, 1820. His father was Samuel 
Hoskins, a reputable country physician of 
large practice and veiy small income. His 
mother was Harriet Byron, daughter of Caleb 
Gushing, of Orange, jSTew Hampshire, who 
late in life removed to Gharlestown, in Maine, 
where he died August 22, 1853. On both sides 
his ancestors were among the earliest settlers 
of ]\Iassachusetts, only one — a Scotch Presby- 
terian from Ireland — having arrived later than 
1750, s(i that he is by descent a veritalile Yan- 
kee of the Yankees. Of liis anccstDi's in the 
direct line the Hoskins family were at Scituate 
in 1634, and the Cushings at Hingham in 
1635, as were also the Hawke and the Lincoln 
families ; the Reeds were in WeymoTith in 
1635; the Cobbs on Cape Cod before 1640; 
and John Drake came over with Winthrop; 
and his cousin Thomas Drake came to Wey- 
mouth in 1653; the Cottons were in Boston; 



the Sawyers at Lancaster and near Newbury- 
port ; the Wainwrights and Ambroses in Es- 
sex cotmty before 1660; and after careful re- 
search he tiuds no progenitor except his great- 
grandfather, John Church, the Presbyterian 
elder from Xorth Ireland, coming in 1752, and 
the Huguenot, Jacques Pineaux, the father of 
Dolly Pinueo, his great-great-grandmother, fa- 
mous to this day among her descendants for her 
personal beauty and her magnificent golden 
hair, that arrived in Xew England from the 
old world subsequent to the year 1690. 
Through these numerous families he inher- 
its a common blood with all Xew England peo- 
ple whose ancestors migrated from England 
previous to the Revolutionary war, and, wher- 
ever family histories have lieen preserved, he 
has no difficulty in tracing the blood relation- 
ship with all stich, at least within the eighth 
degree, and finds them generally, like himself, 
proud of their descent. 

William Hoskins, his ancestor in the seventh 
degree, was at Scituate in 1634, a freeman of 
Plymouth colony in 1G38, was an esqtiire in 
1642, and presunuil)ly, therefore, a res2:)ectable 
and religious man and well-to-do in the world. 
His son William, as well as William Reed and 
Thomas Drake, was a member of the colony 
that purchased Bristol county from the Indians 
and settled at Taunton, from which place his 
numerous descendants have spread far and wide 
over the northern and middle states. He came 
from Xorfolkshire, in England, and was by 
trade a wheelwright. His descendants down 
to the grandfather of [Mr. J. C. C. Hoskins 
(as tradition reports of his ancestors also), have 
been mechanics or farmers of the middle class. 
Few of them have been needy, fewer have been 
rich, few of them ignorant but not many of them 
college bred, very few merchants or lawyers 
and fewer clergymen or jihysicians, much dis- 
posed to have their own way, tolerably ready 
to hear argument and be led by reason, btit 
quick to oppose any show of assumed author- 
ity ; in every conflict for individual freedom. 




J^- <o. /o. c^^^/^ 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



177 



since the days of Henry \'III at least, they 
have fought against prerogative and opj^ression. 
None of the family have held important public 
oiEces, but many of them were respectable and 
influential in their neighborhoods. 

His maternal ancestor, in the eighth degree, 
Matthew (Aishing, A\-ith a numerous family, 
some of whom were already adults, came also 
from A'orfolkshire. He settled at Hingham, 
Massachusetts, in 1635. The Gushing family 
was old and wealthy in Xorfolk, and had large 
landed 2->ossessions there. Their history is well 
known back into the fifteenth century, and 
there (as in this country since) they were men 
of education and influence and wealth. The 
descendants of Matthew Cushing had, i)revioits 
to the year 1800, furnished more than thirty 
graduates to Harvard College, and a more con- 
siderable number of very eminent clergy and 
lawyers and judges, than any other Xew En- 
gand family. Among them history especially 
commemorates Thomas and John Cushing, who 
took very prominent parts in liringing on and 
prosecuting the war of independence and Will- 
iam Cushing, who, already associate justice of 
the United States court, declined the chief jus- 
ticeship when tendered to him by President 
Washington. Nor has the C'ushing family 
lacked men of distinction in the jiresent cen- 
tury. Witness Caleb Cushing, of Xewbury- 
port, Judge Cushing, of Boston, and the late 
chief justice of the state of New HamjJshii-e. 

His parents reared a family of eight — five 
sons and three daughters — all of whom exem- 
plified the character of their paternal ancestry 
by a respectable mediocrity of ai)ility, so far 
as the accumulation of wealth and extended in- 
fluence go, and their maternal ancestry by a 
considerable fondness for reading and litera- 
ture, which doubtless led to the college educa- 
tion of the subject of this sketch. Three of the 
sons — all that were ]>liysieally able — also 
proved that the family hatred of oppression re- 
tained its ancient strength, by enlisting at the 
very outset of the war against slavery, and 



fighting for freedom until all were free. So 
in the Eevolutionarv war his grandfather Hos- 
kins and four brothers fought from the begin- 
ning to the end. 

His father led a hard life in a hard country 
among the granite otitliers of the White moun- 
tains, but he was alwaj's honored and respected 
by all that knew him, and when he died, in 
1873, at Chelsea, Massachusetts, where he went 
to live in his old age, he was much motirned 
through the whole circle of his acquaintances. 
Not less belo^-ed or less widely mourned was 
his wife, who, after her husband's death, came 
to Sioux (_'ity, whore she had a home with her 
son, J. 1). Hoskins, \iiitil she died in August, 
1882. 

In the boyhood days of J. C. C. Hoskins 
there was not much money in his father's house, 
what fees he collected from his farmer patients 
(the community was entirely agricultural) 
were paid in the products of the farm, a bitshel 
of wheat or corn or rye, a cow or a calf, in ex- 
treme cases — these were the fees when any at 
all were received. So he, with an earnest de- 
sire for books and a college education, like most 
New England boys, had a poor show for suc- 
cess in a career that seemed to him as far off 
and as much to be desired as heaven itself. It 
would be too long to narrate the story of his 
success, but succeed he did. By working on 
the farm in summer vacation, and teaching 
school in the winter, and some aid from home, 
he Avorked his way through college and at the 
age of twenty-one found himself possessed of 
a diploma as liachelnr of arts of Dartmouth col- 
lege, and liberty to go out into the world and 
see what he could do with it. 

He gave a note to his father for si.x hundred 
dollars payable on demand. He possessed one 
suit of clothes and clad in this he applied for 
a position as principal of the academy at Leb- 
anon, New Hampshire, which had recently fall- 
en into the bands of the Universalist denomi- 
nation and l)een christened The Lebanon Lib- 
eral Institute. His application met with favor 



178 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUJJY COUNTY 



and he was cuiployud at a salary of four liim- 
dred dollars per year, entering upon his duties 
in September, 1841. His salary was after- 
ward increased to five hundred dollars and a 
number of college professors, clergymen of note 
and one United States senator were prej^ared 
for college luider his instruction. The school 
prospered while Mr. Hoskins continued at its 
head, and from his salary he was enabled not 
only to meet his own expenses biit also to dis- 
charge his financial uliligations to his father. 
In 1846 his health failed and he gave up teach- 
ing for civil engineering, which became his life 
work. He was iirst employed on the construc- 
tion of the C'oehituate waterworks at Boston, 
Massachusetts, beginning the iireliminary sur- 
vey in June, 1846, and remaining until the 
completion of the works in the fall of 1848. 
He had charge of the Xewton and Brookline 
tunnels until they were well under way and 
Avas then deputed to make survey for what is 
now the Brookline old reservoir, and when the 
stirvey was appro\-ed he took charge of the con- 
struction work, remaining in that position un- 
til the final completion of the reservoir, and 
his name may now be seen on the marble tablet 
in the gatehouse which commemorates the com- 
pletion of the entire work. 

In 1849 ^Mr. Hoskins went with his friend 
and suiaerior, Thomas S. Williams, who had 
been appointed superintendent of the Sullivan 
Railroad in Xew Hampshire. Xot long after 
this ~Slr. Williams was appointed superinten 
dent of the Boston & Maine Railroad and Mr. 
Hoskins remained for some months as acting 
superintendent of the Sullivan Railroad, after 
which he rejoined Mr. Williams in Boston. 
He worked on the Boston dt Maine Railroad 
until Jime, 1850, when an engineer of the 
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad came north seeking 
a man of experience in the excavation and con- 
struction of tunnels. !Mr. Hoskins agreed to 
undertake such construction and on the 15th 
of June, 1850, he found himself near the west- 
ern end of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad on 



the J\lon(nigahela river. He was soon deputed 
to relocate a portion of the western division, 
the only instruction which he received being 
to lay as good a line as possible and get as near 
the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania as he 
eotild without touching that state. The loca- 
tion i^roved satisfactory and Mr. Hoskins was 
deptited to take charge of the tunnel division. 
When the work was well under way he was 
transferred to the preliminary survey of the 
Northwestern Virginia Railroad, which is now 
the main line of the Baltimore iS: Ohio Rail- 
road, crossing the Ohio river at Parkersburg, 
West Virginia. At that time there had been 
nil wiirk so ditfieult undertaken in the United 
States. In one liundred miles there were twen- 
ty-two tunnels and a ruling grade of eighty feet 
per mile. ilr. Hoskins worked hard for nearly 
six months with a corps of sixteen men, cover- 
ing a broad extent of rugged (•(nintry. mostly 
dense forests with a perfect net work of lines. 
He located sixty-five miles of the road and su- 
])erintendcd the construction of thirty-seven 
miles, iiH'luding the central and most difiicult 
portion. The work was begun in the summer 
of 1852 and the first train ran to the Ohio 
river on Christmas day of 1856. There was 
no cessation of work and IMr. Hoskins left his 
piisitiou in January, 1857. Despite a most 
liberal offer from a Texas Railroad Company 
he determined to seek a home in the far west. 
He had become interested in the Kansas war 
for lilierty and, accompanied by his wife, be- 
gan the journey to that state April T, 1857, 
going from Parkersburg, Virginia, to St. Louis 
by steamer, a journey of eight days. He left 
his wife with relatives in St. Lotiis and pro- 
ceeded by rail to Jefferson C'ity, where he found 
snow a foot deep although it was then April 17, 
thence to Lexington, Missouri, and on to Kan- 
sas ( ify, to Leavenworth, Weston, St. Jo- 
seph, Omaha aiid Council Bluffs, and on the 
5th of ^lay, 185 7, he arrived at Sioux City, 
Tiiwa. Frnm felliiw passengers he had heard 
that Kansas had settled her difficulties and 



PAST AND PRESENT OF \V0(3DBri!Y COUNTY 



179 



would doubtless be a free state. Mr. Hoskius 
had expected to settle in Kansas, but his cousin, 
the late John C. Flint, had written to him at 
St. Louis and insisted that he come to Sioux 
City before choosing a permanent location. 
Taking note of the prosj^ects here Mr. lioskins 
piirchased lots and a house on Xebraska street 
and there made his home for many years. This 
was a wild and largely unsettled district at 
that period. There was no communication 
with the outside world excej^t by river and it 
was a fourteen days trip to St. Louis. There 
was no railroad within three hundred miles and 
across the river was a territory infested by the 
Indians, nor was there any settlement of any 
kind directly eastward for more than one hun- 
dred miles, nor none to the north this side of 
Pembina, while the nearest settlement of note 
in the west was Utah, save that a few people 
lived on the JMissouri river bottoms between 
Sioux City and Council Bluffs. Sioux City 
contained a population of a few hundred, most- 
ly living in log cabins, board shanties and tents, 
and yet the town was in the process of a 
"boom," and town lots were selling higher than 
in 1875. Evei-y piece of land for many miles 
had been claimed so that no property could be 
had for pre-emption without paying four or 
five times the government price in order to get 
rid of prior claimants. 

Mr. Hoskins had been married on the 10th 
of July, 1856, to Miss Clarissa Virginia Ben- 
nett, of Weston, Lewis county, Virginia, the 
second daughter of Hon. James Bennett, an 
influential lawyer who had often represented 
his district both in the lower and upper houses 
of the Virginia legislature. Mr. Hoskins had 
left his wife in St. Louis, while he made his 
trip to the northwest of Iowa and after de- 
termining to locate here he went to that city 
and brought Mrs. Hoskins to Sioux City, ar- 
riving on the 5th of June. He also bought 
some supplies, a few floor boards, a window and 
a door and in the little cabin, sixteen feet 
square, thus equipped they began housekeep- 



ing on Xebraska street just below Seventh 
street. Their home was a log cabin and in 
this primitive dwelling were born four of their 
eight children, tlieir family consisting of two 
sons and six daughters. There they continued 
to reside until the spring of 1865, when the 
property was sold. 

Mr. Hoskins led a very busy life until 1878, 
since which time he has had no regular occu- 
pation. The last work which he did in his 
profession was in the autumn of 1866, when 
he made a preliminary survey for the Sioux 
City & St. Paul Eailroad, of which he became 
the first president, as well as chief engineer, and 
he has been very prominent and influential in 
public affairs. In 1858 he was chosen town- 
ship assessor and city engineer and continued 
in office until 1871. He- made profiles and 
advised street grades which were adopted in 
1858 and revised and re-adopted in 1871. He 
has served both as county sheriff and city 
mayor, called to both offices by appointment 
to fill vacancies. Three times he has been a 
memlier of the school board, served one year 
as county superintendent of schools, and was 
postmaster of Sioux City for nearly sixteen 
years, his time of service ending in the spring 
of 1878. He aided in founding the two old- 
est national banks of Sioux City and was a 
director of one of these for several years. He 
was also a founder and director of the city's 
first savings bank. He was also the president 
of the Sioux City Building Fund Association 
for many years and aided in settling up its 
affairs when it closed its most successful career. 
He was also one of the founders in 1864 of 
the oldest commercial business in SioTix City, 
that of the J. M. Pinckney Book & Stationery 
Company. His activity has extended to many 
fields of endeavor, which have resulted to the 
benefit of the city as well as to individual stock- 
holders and few residents of northwestern Iowa 
have contributed in so large or important a 
measure to the progress and development of this 
portion of the state. 



180 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUPY COUNTY 



1 



ULYSSES SAMUEL EENJSTE. 

Among the representative business men of 
Woodbury county none are more deserving of 
mention in this vohmie than Ulysses S. Renne, 
of Smithland, who for several years has been 
connected with the agricultural and stock-rais- 
ing interests of the community and is also iden- 
tified with a number of other business enter- 
prises. Keen discrimination, unflagging indus- 
try and resolute purpose are numbered among 
his salient characteristics and thus he has won 
that prosperity which is the merited reward 
of honest effort. 

Mr. Renne was born in Mount Morris, Illi- 
nois, on the 31st of October, 1869, and on the 
paternal side is of French descent, his great- 
great-grandfather, Hiram Renne, being one of 
three brothers, who came from Rennes, France, 
with the ten thousand vohuiteers that came 
to this country with General La Fayette in 
1778 to fight for American independence. 
They were liberals in their native land and 
opposed to British oppression. At the close 
of the war these brothers did not return to 
France but settled in Massachusetts. Our sub- 
ject's grandfather, who also bore the name of 
Hiram Renne, was born in the old Bay state 
and at the age of sixteen joined the United 
States Regulars. With his command he came 
west to Illinois and participated in the Black 
Hawk war, his coinjiany being stationed near 
Lincoln's comnKuid. Later he went to Tennes- 
see, where he married ]\[iss Wiggins, and sub- 
sequently located at St. Louis. In his family 
were four sons and llii-cc daughters, those still 
living being W. S., the fatlirr of our subject; 
and Thomas an<l .\nii:i, liotji residents of 
Springfield, Illinois. 

W. S. Renne, our subject's father, was born 
in St. Louis, August 31, 1831, and sjient the 
first twenty years of his life in that city, after 
which he rcmoveil to (Iglc^ county, Illinois. 
Prior to this, however, he had enlisted in the 
^Texiean war but was never sent to the front, 
though he was in the service for six months 



in training at the barracks in St. Louis. In 
ISSC) he brought his family to Iowa and first 
liicated in Story cotmty, where he spent three 
years and then removed to Crawford county, 
this state. In ISlll he became a resident of 
Smithland and now makes his home with our 
subjeet at this place. Politically he is a stanch 
lu'publican, having supjmrted that party since 
Voting toi- .lohn ( '. Fremont in 1856, and he 
never lost but two votes since the election of 
Lincoln. 

In 1853 W. S. Renne was tmited in marriage 
to Miss Eliza J. Grubb, who was born in Lou- 
doun county, Virginia, January 9, 1833, a 
daughter of William and Eliza (Myers) Grubb, 
of that county. She was an only child and in 
early life came west with her parents by way 
of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Savanna, 
Illinois, from there to Mount Carroll and on 
to Mount Morris, Illinois, where Mr. and Mrs. 
Grubb spent their remaining days. The fam- 
ily were sbiveholders in Virginia and were 
among the most prominent citizens of that state, 
lieiug related to the Blackwells, Washingtons, 
Campbells and Randolphs. Mrs. Renne was 
edticated at Rock River Seminary, where she 
was graduated at the age of eighteen years. 
She was without doubt the best edticated woman 
in hor eonimtinity and throughoitt life kept up 
her reading, being familiar with Shakespeare 
and other noted poets. She was also an expert 
at fine needle work and invented some ninety 
different lace patterns. At her death, which 
occttrred on the 21st of November, 1903, she 
left twenty-seven fancy quilts which she had 
made for her children, one of which has over 
seven thousand pieces in it. She was an earn- 
est Christian, a member of the Methodist Epis- 
cojial church from childhood, and was a loving 
wife and mother, her life being devoted to her 
home and family. Hers was the largest funeral 
ever licld in Smithland, as she left not a single 
enemy on earth and was beloved as a neighbor 
and friend by all who knew her. The services 
were conducted bv Rev. Frederick Rav, who is 




r. S. EEXXE. 



PAST AXD PltESENT OF \V()OJ)BrifY COUNTY 



183 



still pastor of the Methodist Ejjiscojial church 
of Sniithland, and Eev. Clift, of Pierro. She 
never punished her children and was by nature 
and disposition a most loving woman of great 
character. 

Of the eleven children born to W. S. llenne 
and wife three died in infancy, the others be- 
ing Emma, now the wife of George Beer, of 
Lawton, Iowa ; William, who lives near Grant 
Center, this state; Ulysses S., of this review; 
Alvaretta, wife of Edward Rogers, of Allen, 
i^ebrasha ; Edwarcl, who died at the age of six 
years; Frances, wife of John Parkhill, who 
lives on a farm near Oto, Iowa ; Uaniel, a resi- 
dent of Ada, Washington ; and Mary, wife of 
J. J. Parkhill, who lives near Smithland. 

Ulysses S. IJenne came with the family to 
Iowa and in 1891, the year they located in 
Smitldand, he entered the Western Normal 
College at Shenandoah. After the building 
there was burned in 1892 he attended the Fre- 
mont iNTormal for six months. He was next a 
student at the Western Normal at Lincoln for 
two years, and was there graduated in June, 
1895, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. 
For seven years he engaged in teaching school 
in Colorado, Nebraska and Iowa, after which 
he gave up educational work on account of ill 
health and returned to his home in Smithland, 
his parents being then well advanced in years. 

A man of good business ability and enter- 
prise, ilr. Renne has accumulated consider- 
able property, having ranches in Nebraska, 
Kansas, North Dakota, Missouri and Iowa. 
He rents most of his land but in connection 
with his other business he operates his farm 
on the Little Sioux river adjoining the city 
park. His own place is really a large park, 
consisting of open fields, timber land and rich 
meadows of bhie grass. Mr. Renne is a lover 
of horses and owns some fine stock, having some 
pedigreed, standard-bred harness horses with 
R. R. Hitt, No. 2564.5, A. T. R., at the head 
of his stud. This stallion was bred in Ken- 
tucky, sired bv Sentinel Wilkes, dam Edna by 



Membrine Patchen. He is a superior breeder 
and his colts possess individuality and uniform- 
ity in gait. Mr. Renne also has some fine 
mares and colts and he derives a great deal 
of pleasure as well as profit from his stock- 
raising. He enjoys driving and training these 
fine animals and believes the exercise to be 
beneficial. In addition to his other business 
he owns and operates a steam sawmill with a 
ca])acity of seven thousand feet of lumber per 
day, doing all of the sawing for the country 
rijund. Being an cxj)ert engineer he often takes 
charge <:)f the work himself and sells the lum- 
ber in carload lots or less. This branch of his 
business alone would be enough for any ordi- 
nai-y man to manage, but Mr. Renne has many 
other interests. For the past year and a half 
he has been editor and proprietor of the Smith- 
land Sun and since 1900 has been engaged in 
the real estate and loan business, buying and 
selling lands extensively throughout the north- 
west and negotiating farm loans for all who 
desire them. In ]i(>litics he is a Republican 
and altli<iugh many (itfices have been tendered 
him he has always declined to serve, preferring 
to give his undivided attention to his extensive 
business interests. In business affairs he is 
prompt, energetic and notably reliable and usu- 
ally carries forward to successful completion 
whatever he undertakes. 



MRS. KATHRYN HUNT JAMES. 

Mrs. Kathryn Hunt James, who has the dis- 
tinction of being the only authoress of Sioux 
City, was born in Monticello, Iowa, and from 
her earliest girlhood was associated to a greater 
or less extent with journalistic work. She dis- 
played literary ability at a very early age and 
her school essays always received the highest 
commendations from her instructors. She was 
invariably chosen as the representative of her 
school in all public literary contests. While she 
was still a young girl her mother, Mrs. Harriet 



ISl 



PAST AM) IM.'HSKNT F WOODBURY COUNTY 



l'',:irlc limit, rstaMislic.l llic Stylus, a weekly 
Tir\vs[i;iiifi', ami ill lliis wdrk she was alily as- 
sisted by her <laui;iiler, who ehroiiicled all the 
events in hiilli literary ami soeial cireles for her 
mother's jciurnal. Shr |iroveil an I'xeelleiit news 
jjathorer, really iloiim re[ioi-torial work, and 
after a lime she estahlislied an original column 
in her mother's ]ia|)er entitled "A Bystander's 
Notes," which rousisted of hits of philosophy 
and fragnieiilary prose and jioetieal productions 
from her own |m'ii. Kxtraels from this column 
were \\i(lely copied throughout the northwest 
and some of tin- articles wer(> pronounced 
classics hy eastern critics. In ^lay, I'.tOO, J\liss 
Tlutit issued the hest of her writings in a 
dainty while and gold volume eutitled "Glint," 
which proxi'cl imnieiisely ]io]iular. She was 
Sioux City's lirsi authoress and as she is an 
omnix'oroiis reader :ind a close srudent, possess- 
ing in addition a mind well trained, her friends 
look for further pro(lnctions from her [len. 

Mrs. James is also an accomidished musi- 
cian and a most eariu'st and /.I'alous church 
worker. She has heeii ]ironiineiitly identified 
with the Sunday-school work of the First Con- 
gregational church for several years and has 
held offices in the different church organiza- 
tions. On the i^Tth of June, 1001, she was 
united in marriage at Minneapolis to "Rev. Ben- 
jamin .Tanu's. a ( 'ongregati(inal minister and a 
most able scholar. 



HON. ELBKUT Ti. TTUP.B.VBn. 

Hon. Kllierl 11. Uubbard, who as a lawyer 
and lawmaker has won distinction in Iowa, and 
who, coming to the bar well equipped bv thor- 
ougli pre])aratory training, lias in the courts 
gained the distinction which results from the 
most able handling <if intricate and important 
litigated inierests, was born in Kushville, In- 
diana. .\ugust lU, IS lit. His father, the Hon. 
.\sahel AY. Hubbard, was a native of Connecti- 
cut and was one of the most distiiuiuished law- 



yers and jurists of his time. He married Leah 
I'ligli. a naii\e of Ohii.i, and in 1S5G, two years 
after the death of his wife, he removed from In- 
diana lo Iowa, where as an acknowledged leader 
in public affairs he championed many measures 
which contributed to the general good and pro- 
moled the hest interests of the new common- 
wealth. His ability in his ]irofession was 
(piickly recogiii/.(.'cl and he ser\'e(l as judge of 
the fourth judicial dislricl from IS.JS until 
ISiii' and as a member of congress from 1862 
until ls<'i,s. Ill these and other imjiortant posi- 
tions he exhiliileil strong native jiowers as well 
as liroad and accurate learning and always 
maintaiiuvl the conlidence and respect of hosts 
of friends. 

Elbert 11. llubliard has been a resident of 
Iowa since IsCiT and after receiving his early 
insi ruction from ]irivate tutors he continued 
his eilucati(Ui in Yale (College, New Haven, 
( 'onueclicut, in which institution he matricu- 
lated in IsTil. Upcui bis return to Siou.x City 
he liecame a law student in the oihee of C. B. 
Marks, was admitted to the bar in 1S74 and 
was associated with his preceptor in active 
practice until IS 78. He was then alone in 
the prosecution of his profession until 1881, 
when he fm-med a copartnership with E. B. 
Spaulding under the iiaine of Hubbard & 
Spauldiiig, which later became Hubbard, 
Siiaulding i^- Taylor. In 1890 Mr. Hubbard 
became a member of the firm of Wright & Hub- 
bard and after six years' associati(Ui they ad- 
mitted .\. F. Call to a partnership, under the 
tirm styl.' (d" AVright, Call & Hubbard. Mr. 
Iluliliard withdrew in 1002 and the present 
linn id" Hubbard & Burgess was formed, his 
partner b(ung E. A. Burgess. Afr. Hubbard is ac- 
counted one of the ablest members of the Wood- 
bury county bar and is recogni/ed as a man of 
ki'cn, clear-cut intellect and coni]ireliensive grasp 
of the law. At the starting jioiiii of his career 
it was seen that he possessed certain rare gifts, 
among which is that of eloquence. In address- 
ing judge and jury he at once commands their 



,A^- 




PAST AND PRESENT OP WOODBURY COUNTY 



187 



attention by his strong and impressive person- 
ality, and the arguments which he brings for- 
ward are stated in a logical, forcible manner 
which carries conviction of the sincerity and 
tnith of tlic speaker and the justice of his 
cause. 

Mr. Hubbard's citizenship is dominated by 
a lofty patriotism and a conscientious realiza- 
tion of his duty to city, state and nation, and 
because of this he uses his talents to further 
the interests of the party which he believes em- 
bodies the best principles of government. A 
stalwart Republican, he was elected on the 
party ticket to represent his district in the 
nineteenth general assembly of Iowa, in 1882, 
and in 1899 was chosen state senator, in both of 
which positions he took a prominent ]iart in 
furthering important legislation. In 1904 he 
was nominated as the Republican candidate for 
congress in the eleventh congressional district 
of Iowa. 

In 1882 ]Mr. Hubbard was uuirried, in Sioux 
City, to j\Iiss Eleanor H. Cobb, and their four 
children are Elbert H., Charlotte, Lyle and 
Eleanor Hubbai'd. The prominence of the 
family in social circles is undispiited, and in 
the city where they have so lung resided ]\Ir. 
and Mrs. Hubl)ard have a very large num- 
ber of warm friends. 



JOHIS^ MYERS. 



The sons of the Emerald Isle have lieen 
valued factors in .Vmerican civilization and 
business development. There are to-day more 
representatives of the green isle of Erin in this 
country than still remain in their native land 
and their ready adaptability and marked enter- 
prise have enabled them to conquer difficulties 
and obstacles in the business Avorld and attain 
success that is, indeed, enviable. Mr. Myers 
owes his prosperity, for he is now in comfort- 
able circumstances, not to any fortunate envi- 
ronment or the aid of influential frieiuls. but to 



his own persistency of purpose and sound busi- 
ness judgment. He was born in Ireland on 
June 11, 1837, and is a son of Matthew and 
Ann (Hickey) Myers. The former was born 
in Ireland, came to America in 1845 and lo- 
cated in Rutland county, Vermont. There he 
followed the occupation of farming until 1864, 
when he made his way westward to Sioux City, 
Iowa, and afterward carried on agricultural 
pursuits in W(iodl)ury county. Here he died 
in 1SS4, at tlie age of seventy-two years. He 
was a member of the Catholic church. His 
wife, also born in Ireland, died in 1890, at the 
age of eighty-five years and she, too, was a com- 
municant of the Catholic church. In their 
family were twelve children. 

John Myers acquired his education in his 
native country and in the schools of Vermont, 
where he was then living. In his youth he be- 
came familiar with the labors of the farm as 
he assisted his father in the cultivation of the 
fields. In 1860 he went to Minnesota and in 
the same year removed from that state to Sioux 
City, where he followed various pursuits, scom- 
ing no labor that would yield him an honest 
living. In 1861 he enlisted in the state service 
to ]u-otect the frontier and remained with the 
military command for seven months. Because 
of disability he did not serve in the regular 
army, although he enlisted. In 1862 he made 
his wav to the western mining country and 
spent four years in the mines. During that 
period he visited Salt Lake City and heard 
Brigham Young speak in the !Mormon temple. 
Finally he returned to Sioux City in 1867 and 
not long afterAvard he purchased land in Nebras- 
ka, where he carried on farming for ten years. 
He then conducted a general store at Jackson, 
Xebraska, for nine years and in 1882 he came 
once more to Sioux City, where he became iden- 
tified with mercantile interests, opening a 
grocery store at Xo. 612 AYest Seventh street. 
There he continued in business until the fall of 
1903, but is now living retired. In the mean- 
time, however, in 1862, when in the west, he 



iss PAST AND PHHSEN'P OF WOODl!!' KV COUNTY 

MKiilc :i iri|i In r.ritisli ( 'nliunbi;!, ciixcrini^ (if (Jci'iinin lineage, while the Fergusons wei'e 
iwciiiv three hiimlrcd miles ill ih:il coiinirv. He of Senieli Irish and Welsh descent. George 
sle|il on the j^reiind during I he Irip, excii Hiii-klie;id, llie grandt'alher. was a nalive of 
threiigii I 111' siiiiws id' the sexcresi winier. Near N'iiginia who siiciil his life in that state and 
Salt l.ake ('ilv the |iarlv with wliieli he trawled in Oliin, rearhing the ad\ani'ed age of eighty- 
were e(ini|)elled, while in eaniji, to harriraih- two years. It was in lS."iOthat John W. 13urk- 
theinseh'es t'l-oni the Indians I'm- lliree weeks. head eaiiie to Inwa, settling in IJeiiton eoiuity, 
'.^)n this lid|i ,\lr. .Myers was eiigage(l in prns where he has sinee made his home. He mar- 
peel iiig and mining and linniglit hack with him ried .Miss .\iiianda K. Ferguson, a daughter of 
nine tlidiisand dnlhn-s in gnld. In IStiO he Jdhii l'\'rgiis(iii, who was a native of Indiana 
visited ^'ankI(lll. Snnih Oakuta, then contain- and was a farmer and minister of the Advent 
ing only one log house. In. Inly. 1 '.t(U. he again ehiindi. Ilewasa relat ive of President Benja- 
visited Yankton and insleail nf seeing only im- min I lari'isen, heiiig a deseendant of the same 
broken jirairie — in e\'ery direct imi he saw lloiir- liiu' of anceslry. Ke\'. Ferguson liecame a 
isliing villages and cities, and liin' farms. leading preacher of his demunination and one 
Mr. jMyers was married in \S{\'.\ to Miss P.rid- '''^ the foremost Bible students in that church, 
get TTogau, who was h,n-ii in Trelan.I in 1812. ^^'1"'" " young imin ho came to Iowa and spent 
In that country her mother is still living at the ''"' ,iii''':if''i' l''"'i "'' 'li^ Hi''' 'n f'l'^ ^''I'l^- Tu the 
age of eighty-two years. The daughter came to fnniily .d' .lohn W. and .\inaiida E. (Ferguson) 
the United States with friends in ISGC.. It was Burkhead were eight (diildren: Olive, now the 
in Jackson, Nebraska, that she gave her hand "'''' "*" '^ ^^^'- J''^^^'' ^^ Olkahonia; George W. ; 
in marria,<>e to IVfr. 'M.vers and their union has •'"'"' ^^- "*" Oklahonui ; Jackson, who is living 
been blessed with three (diildren: Matthew, who i" Texas; Annie, the wife of Lewis Wistler, 
is assistant mana.i^er for Davidson Brothers; ^^ ^ioiix City; William, who died at the age 
Mary, now deceased; and John. The parents "^' ibirty four years; Fuavne, who died at the 
are mombers of the Catholic church and are ■^^'' "' '"'■ii'.v-four years; and Bertha, the wife 
well known in this community. 'S[r. M.vers can "^' ''"'"' "^Viiitz.d, of Chicago, 
renieniber wiieii he could ba\-e bought choice George 'W. bhirkhead coni]deled a high school 
laiiJ in Sioux City at a nominal price. education in Independence. Iowa, and tlnai en- 
tered upon preparation for life's j)ractical 

duties. He took up the study of architecture 

with some tradesmen who were builders and 

contractors, and continued in the Iniildiui;' bnsi- 

GEOKGK WASlii.XOTOX BUEKHEAU. ^^,,, ^;„, , ,,,,.-„, „,• ,^,„ ,„,,,, „, „,„;, i,,;, 

Georii-e Washingion I'.nrkhead, whose ability 1^'' t'l''" began work as an architect in connec- 

as an andiitect places him in the foremost ranks ''''n "'''' constructive work in Sac City, Iowa, 

anuuig the menihers of the i)rofession in Sioux where he was located for six years. In ISOO 

City and northwestern Iowa, was born in Ben- I"' '"H'lc '" Sioux City, where he has since fol- 

ton county, this state, on the I'Hili of Xovember. '""''''' 'i'^ in-ofession, devoting his time excln- 

1858, his parents being .lohn W. and Amanda ^'^''b' '" andiitectnral designing. He is now 

E. (Ferguson) Burkhead. The father was a "ididy recognized as a leader in his profession 

native of Ohio and the mother of Indiana and bere. Among the many plans furnished by 

both are now living in Sioux City, wlier(> ^Ir. hiin have been those for the West Hotel, the 

Burkhead is widl known as a nias(Ui and con- second ward school Imilding, tlu- clinical amphi- 

tractor. The Hnrkhead family is originally theater of St. Joseph's Hospital, the stock ex- 




G. w, I'.ii;kiik.\I). 



PAST AXL) ritESEXT UK WOUDJUJn' COUNTY 



191 



change annex, the residenee of Benjamin Dav- 
idson, the Tattle building, the residence of 
Dr. A. Anderson, William Lercli and Dr. T. F. 
H. Spreng and the Christian Science church, all 
of Sioux City. Among those for which he has 
furnished the plans in other places are the 
bank and Masonic Temple at Odebolt, Iowa; 
the bank and Masonic building at Emerson, 'Ne- 
braska ; two liaiik buildings at Bloomfield, Xe- 
braska ; the bank and Masonic Temple at Mar- 
cus, Iowa; the courthouse at Elks Point, South 
Dakota; and the public school building at Jef- 
ferson, South Dakota. All of these stand as 
monuments to his skill in his profession and the 
architectural beauty of the different buildings 
indicates his right to be classed among the lead- 
ing representatives of his calling. 

In June, 1880, !Mr. Burkhead was united in 
marriage to Miss Clara Lee, of Sac county, 
Iowa, who died March 4, I'.M)!, leaving three 
children: Myrtle E., Halma F. and CI. My- 
ron. On the 23d of March, 11103, he nuirried 
Adeline Trumbauer, of ^Marcus. 

Mr. Burkhead is a mendjer of the liuilders' 
Exchange and while working as a mechanic 
he was connected Avith the Brick Layers' Union, 
was also a member of the Labor & Trades As- 
sembly. At one time he was vice-president of 
the Eagles lodge and he gives his political sup- 
port to the Republican party. He is a recog- 
nized leader in musical circles and has been 
a director of the choir in the Calvary Baptist 
church, the Whitfield Methodist Episcopal 
church, the Mayflower Congregational church, 
the First Congi-egational church and in the 
Cathedral of the Epiphany. While he has 
never soiight to figure before the public in any 
light outside of Imsiness circles and has been 
content to leave office-holding to others, he has, 
nevertheless, been recognized as a citizen of 
worth whose aid can always he counted upon 
when measures afFecting the piiblic welfare are 
at stake and his musical talent and social disjio- 
sition have rendered him a favorite among his 
large circle of acquaintances in Sioux City. 



.MRS. JIAIIIUET EAliLE HUNT. 
Mrs. llarrit't Earle Hunt is widely known as 
the editor of the Stylus, the only paper ever 
publisjied in Sioux City by a woman, and she 
has made for herself an enviable name in jour- 
nalistic circles in the northwest. She was born 
in Mai|ii(ik('fa, Iowa, and is a daughter of the 
late lion. William I. Earle, who located in Ma- 
(luoketa in 18-10. On the 8th of October, 1864, 
she became the wife of C. W. Hunt, a promi- 
nent newspaper man, and it was in her hus- 
liand's office that Mrs. Hunt gained her first 
|iractical experience in newspaper work. Dur- 
ing his absence from the office she took entire 
charge and often assisted in setting type if 
there was need. She also sujjerinteuded the job 
dei)artment, and her straightforward business- 
likr lurtlidds aided materially in gaining pat- 
I'liiiagc f(ir the (itfice. U'lir family removed from 
.MaciUdkcta to :\Ionticcll() in the spring of 1SG8 
and there remained for thirteen years, Mr. 
Hunt being engaged in active jiewspaper work. 
In 1881 they became residents of Fonda, Iowa, 
where there was an excellent opening for a 
wide-awake enterjirising newspaper. After two 
years there passed, the family located at Storm 
Lake and later went to Lemars, Iowa, where 
^Ir. Hunt established the Daily Democrat. 
Three years later the family home was removed 
to Sioux City, this being in the year 1886. In 
188!) ]\rrs. Hunt, being thrown on her own re- 
sources with a number of small children looking 
to her for support, established the Stj'lus, a 
weekly ncAvspaper, the initial number appear- 
ing on the 11th of May of that year. At that 
time very few women were engaged in active 
l)usiness, even the stenographer was compara- 
tively unknown, and a news])a])er edited by a 
woiiian was a decided innovation. The paper, 
however, ]iroved an instantaneous success. The 
mechanical work thereon was done in South 
Sioux City, while tlie jiatents were furnished 
by a Sioux City printing company. There was 
no subscription price paid upon the paper until 
it had lieen estal)lished for six months. The 



192 



PAST AND PRESP^XT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



copies of the Stylus were delivered at the home3 
of Sioux City free of charge by carrier boys. 
The paper that rau fifteen colimms of original 
matter beside excellent plate matter and was 
given away for the asking was naturally eagerly 
sought, and over a thousand copies were distrib- 
uted each week. In the fall a subscription price 
of one dollar and a half a year was paid upon 
the paper. This was done in order to secure le- 
gal work. For years every incorporation of 
any prominence in Sioux City has published 
its notice in the Stylus and the lawyers have 
patronized it so extensively that it has come to 
be regarded as authority on legal proceedings. 
Mrs. Hunt has sole control of the paper, person- 
ally transacting all business in connection with 
it. In addition to her journalistic work Mrs. 
Ilniit liiis jiroved herself a model housekeeper 
and has taken most excellent care of her family 
of eight children. The two daughters, Kathryn 
and Louise, were highly educated in music and 
the former has attained distinction in literary 
circles. The latter was considered one of Sioux 
City's leading soprano singers, but her artistic 
career was terminated by death in early woman- 
hood in September, 1895. Charles E. Hunt, 
the eldest son, has been engaged in. active news- 
paper work since he was old enough to set type 
and is now on the reportorial staff of the !N"ews- 
Tribune at Duluth, Minnesota. Professor H. 
H. Hunt, the second son, has been for the past 
fifteen years an instructor in the art of dancing 
and is a member of the National Association 
of Dancing Teachers, in which he holds a ])rom- 
inent office. He now has charge of a prosperous 
dancing academy in Sionx City. George L. 
Hunt, the third son, was graduated from the 
Sioux City high schools in 1806 and the follow- 
ing fall entered Beloit College, at Beloit, Wis- 
consin. For two years after the completion of 
his college course he traveled extensively, locat- 
ing circulating libraries. He has also been re- 
porter on the Sioux City Daily Tribune. He 
now has control of the Woodbury ^Magazine, the 
only magazine published in the western part of 



the state. Fred R. Hunt, the fourth son, has 
completed the academic course at the State Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin and will pursue a full law 
course in the same institution. Arthur Hunt, 
the youngest son, is a student in the high school 
of Sioux City and has gained considerable 
prominence as an athlete, having been a member 
of the high school baseball, football and basket- 
ball teams during one year and as such made a 
fine record. The family has been prominently 
identified with Sioux City's history for the past 
eighteen years and Mrs. Hunt has indeed made 
for herself an enviable name in journalistic 
circles. 



F. P. GILMAX. 

The succcess which follows earnest and con- 
secutive efl^ort has come to F. P. Gilman, whore- 
sides on section 32, Kedron township, and who 
is classed with the representative farmers and 
successful business men of his community. His 
home place of one hundred and twenty acres 
is located within a mile id' Anthon. He is one 
of Iowa's native sous, his birth having occurred 
in Wapello county, on the Ist of December, 
IS.")!:. His father, Harrison Gilman, was a na- 
tive of Indiana, born in 1818 and there he spent 
his boyhood days and was married. Soon after- 
ward he removed to Iowa, establishing his home 
in Wapello county, where he secured a home- 
stead claim and opened up a good farm near 
Ottumwa. There he reared his family and 
spent his remaining days, carrying on his agri- 
cultural pursuits with good success for many 
years. He died in 1S8?>, having for several 
years survived his wife. In the family of this 
wiirtliy couple were seven children, of whom 
four are now living. F. P. Gilman was reared 
in Wapello county upon the old homestead farm 
and in the public schools acquired his educa- 
tion, devoting the winter months to the mastery 
of tlie ])rinciples of learning which constitute 
tlio cnrrioulum of the district school. He remain- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



193 



ed with his fatlicr until he had attaiued his 
majority and received practical training in the 
work of the fai"m, becoming familiar with the 
various tasks that fall to the lot of the agricul- 
turist from the time of early sjjring planting 
until th(> ero])S were harvested in the late au- 
tumn. After his marriage he began farming on 
his fiwn account and raised two crops in Wapel- 
lo county. In 1877 he came to Woodbury 
county, locating in Wolf ('reek township, where 
he rented a tract of land and carried on farm- 
ing for five years. On the expiration of that 
period he purchased railroad land, upon which 
he now resides, becoming the owner of a tract 
of eighty acres, which was raw prairie. This 
he placed under the plow and he continued the 
work of progress upon the home ])lace and has 
developed a splendid pro])erty. He has erected 
a good house, also a barn and outbuildings, has 
planted a grove and also fruit and shade trees 
and, in fact, has made the property what it is 
to-day — one of the highly developed tracts of 
this portion of the state. His fields are well 
tilled and in connection with the raising of 
grain he is engaged in the raising of good 
graded stock. 

In 1876 in Wajjello comity, Iowa, Mr. Gil- 
man was united in marriage to Miss Mary Tif- 
fany, a native of Wisconsin, in which state and 
in Iowa her girlhood days were jjassed. She is 
a daughter of A. D. Tiffany, formerly from 
New York. Unto ilr. and Mrs. Gilman has 
been born one son, A. E. Gilman, who is assist- 
ing in carrying on the home farm. He was 
married in this county to Miss Birdie ililler, 
who was born and reared here, and they have one 
child, Doris. Politically Mr. Gilman is an in- 
flexible adherent of Democratic principles, but 
both he and his son vote independently at local 
elections. They have never been regarded as 
office-seekers or politicians in any sense of the 
term, yet both served as road commissioner for 
three years. F. P. Gilman is a member of the 
^fasonie Lodge at Anthon, also the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, and the son is connected 



with the latter and with the Knights of Pythias 
fraternity. Mr. Gilman, Sr., has filled all of 
the chairs in the Odd Fellows Lodge, is a past 
grand, and in his life has been true to the teach- 
ings of the fraternity, which is based upon mu 
tual heliifulness and brotherly kindness. In 
manner he is qtiiet and unassuming yet his ster- 
ling qualities command respect and confidence 
of all and have secured for him the high regard 
of a large circle of friends. His residence in 
Woodbury county, covering a period of more 
than a quarter of a century, has numbered him 
among its valued citizens, who have been de- 
voted to the public welfare. 



a:mbros£ pry. 



Ambrose i'ry, who is successfully engaged in 
farming and stock-raising in Liston township, 
was born on a farm in Washington county, 
Pennshwania, April 10, 1858, and is a son of 
Abraham and Rachel Pry, in whose family 
were eleven children, eight sons and three 
daughters. The father was born in 1813 and 
died in 1899, but the mother is still living and 
continues to reside njion the old homestead in 
Pennslyvania. They were farming people and 
of English descent. 

The subject of this sketch was reared and 
educated in his native state and early became 
familiar with the duties which fall to the lot 
of the agriculturist. In March, 1S8-1-, he came 
to Woodbury county, Iowa, and soon afterward 
located ujmn his present farm in Liston town- 
ship where he owns eighty acres of rich and ara- 
ble land under a high state of culti^■ation and 
well improved with good and substantial build- 
ings. In connection with general farming he 
carries on stock-raising and is meeting with 
good success in his undertakings. 

Before leaving Pennslyvania, Mr. Pry was 
married, in 1881, to Miss Sarah J. Demint, 
also a native of that state, and to them have 
l)een liorn four children, namely: Clarence, An- 



194 



PAST AND PKE8EXT OF WOOUBUKY COl'XTY 



tone, Elsie and John. Keligiously tlic family 
is connected with the Presbyterian church, and 
politically Mr. Pry is identified with the Ee- 
publication party, always taking a deep inter- 
est in everything calculated to promote the 
moral, social or material welfare of the com- 
munity in which he I'esides. . 



FEED L. EATOX. 



For almost ten years Fred L. Eaton has 
been numbered among the prominent and pro- 
gressive men of Sioux City. He has been one 
of the promoters of its leading business enter- 
prises within that period and his connection 
with an ^mdertaking insures a prosperous out- 
come of the same, for it is in his nature to carry 
forward to successful completion whatever he 
is associated with. He has earned for himself 
an enviable reputation as a careful man of 
business and in his dealings is known for his 
prompt and honorable methods, which have won 
for him the deseiwed and unbounded confidence 
of his fellow men. 

Mr. Eaton was born in Calais, Washington 
county, Vermont, in 18.59, and is of English 
lineage. The family was fomided in America 
by John Eaton, who in 1C35 came from En- 
gland and settled in [Massachusetts at an early 
period in the colonization of the new world. 
Succeeding generations migrated from tlie Bay 
state to Connecticut and eventually tu Ver- 
mont. Sylvester ('. Eaton, the grandfatlier, 
was a minister of the Universalist church. 
Arthur G. Eaton, the father of our siibject, was 
born in Vermont and became a member of the 
Ninth Vermont Volunteer Infantry at the time 
of the Civil war. His regiment Avas captured 
at Harper's Ferry and paroled, but he died in 
the hospital in Chicago in 18<i2, at the early 
age of twenty-six years, thus giving his life 
as a ransom for his coimtry's freedom. He 
lad married Ellen ^1. Chase, a native of Mont- 



pelier, Vermont, in which city she is now liv- 
ing. After the death of her first husband she 
became the wife of John E. Seaver. She is a 
member of the Unitarian chiirch and is a most 
estimable lady, having many friends in the 
Green Mountain state. By her first marriage 
she had three children : Fred L. ; Euloeen, the 
wife of Frank X. Field, a mail clerk of New- 
port, Vermont ; and Arthur G., who is the cash- 
ier of the First National Bank of Montpelier. 
Fred L. Eaton acqiiired his education in the 
pidilic schools of IMontpelier. He entered upon 
his business career in the capacity of a sales- 
man in a bookstore when only fifteen years of 
age and there he remained for more than two 
years. He was then appointed teller in the 
First National Bank of Montjjelier and re- 
tained that position Tintil 1881, when he was 
appointed cashier of the National Bank of 
Barre, Vermnnt, rilling that jAace most capably 
for four years. lie was only twenty-one years 
of age at the time he became cashier and was 
probably the youngest man in the country occu- 
pying so high and responsible a jiosition. In 
1885 he returned to ^lontjielier, where he se- 
cured the position of cashier in the First Na- 
tional bank of that city and thiis served until 
December, 1894, when he came to Sioux City, 
Iowa, to take the i^osition of secretary and gen- 
eral manager of The Credits Commutation 
Company. This company was organized by 
the credit(n-s of the various companies that had 
failed in the financial crash of 1S93 and was 
the parent concern that re-organized various 
other companies that had gone into liquidation 
in the year mentioned. It re-orgauized the 
Sioux City Stock Yards Company in 1894, and 
of this Mr. Eaton was made secretary and treas- 
iTrer. In 1900 he became its secretary and gen- 
eral manager and in Octolicr, 1903, he was 
chosen jiresident and general manager of the 
Sioiix City Stock Yards Company, which posi- 
tion he is now filling. He is a man of keen 
business discernment, of unflagging enterprise 
and unabating energy, and these qualities have 



PAST AND PEESEXT F WOODBUUY COUXTY 



197 



formed the salient features in a career which is 
honorable and successfuL 

To other lines of activity ^h\ Eaton has di- 
rected his labors and is now the secretary of 
The Combination Bridge Company of Sionx 
City. He has also been the vice-president of 
the Live Stock ISTational Bank since its organ- 
ization in 1895. This institiition is capitalized 
at one hnndred thousand dollars and is located 
in the Exchange Building at the stockyards. 
!Mr. Eaton is also the president of the Inter- 
State Live Stock Fair Association, which was 
organized in the spring of 1903. 

On the 1.5th of October, 1884, in Barre, Ver- 
mont, was celebrated the marriage of Fred L. 
Eaton and Miss Lillian Gale, a daughter of 
Lewis and Lucinda (Pettingill) Gale, both of 
Barre, Vermont. Her father was a farmer and 
Mrs. Eaton was born in Barre in 186-4. Two 
children grace this marriage: Stanley Gale, 
born March 13, 1880, and Dorothy, born April 
17, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton hold member- 
ship in the Unitarian church and he belongs 
to the ]\rasonic lodge at Montpelier. He at- 
tained the Knights Templar degree and is a 
jiast eminent commander. He also holds mem- 
bership relations with the Elks, with the Sons 
of the American Revolution and with the Sons 
of Veterans, being a past captain and past colo- 
nel in the last named. His j^olitical allegiance 
is given to the Republican party and while in 
ilontpelier, Vermont, he ser\'ed for several 
terms as city treasurer. In 1S9-1 he was ap- 
pointed a memlier of the staff of Governor U. A. 
Woodbury, of Vermont, with the rank of 
colonel. He is a man of distinct and forceful 
individuality, of broad mentality and mature 
judgment and is leaving his impress upon the 
commercial world. For a number of years he 
has been an important factor in the commercial 
development of Sioux T'ity, and he is prompi 

\ and enterprising, which adds not alone to his 
individual prosperity but also advances the 

' general welfare of the city in which he makes 
hi;-, home. 



GEORGE INGRAHAM THOM. 

Prominent among the enterprising, progress- 
ive and public-spirited citizens of Correction- 
ville is George Ingraham Thom, who is now 
serving as mayor and who in his business career 
has made consecutive advancement along sub- 
stantial lines, whereby he has won success and 
also the confidence of his fellow men. In com- 
nmnity affairs he is deeply interested and has 
put forth his effort in a helpful way to advance 
the general welfare. His fellow townsmen, 
recognizing his loyalty and his capability, chose 
him for tlic highest office within their power to 
bestow, and as chief executive of the city he is 
now giving an administration that is practical, 
business-like and helpful. 

;Mr. Thom is a native son of the west, his 
birth having occurred in ilinnesota on the 11th 
of April, 1859. Seven years later he was 
brought to Iowa and since 1875 has lived in 
Woodlmry county. Descended from Scotch an- 
cestry who came from the north of Ireland and 
were of protestant faith, he traces his lineage 
back to the time of the Revohnionary war. Two 
lirotliers of the name of Thom fought for Amer- 
ican indeiiendenee, l)ut after the war was ended 
they never saw or heard from each other again. 
One brother, Joseph Thom, settled in Pennsyl- 
vania. He was the great grandfather of our 
subject. 

.John M. Thom, the father of George I. Thom, 
was a native of Indiana, but was reared in 
Pennsylvania and Avas married there to Eleanor 
Jane Ellis, who was his second wife and the 
mother of George I. Thom. By trade the father 
was a millwright, folloA\-ing that pursnit 
throughout his active business career. In an 
early day he sought a home in the w^est amid 
the broader business opportunities to be found 
in this portion of the country, and, removing to 
Minnesota, he there built and operated a mill. 
Subsequently he went tn California, where he 
worked at his trade for some time, but after- 
ward returned to Pennsylvania and there joined 
his familv. He continued as a millwright in 



198 



PAS'l^ AXD PEESEXT OF WOODBUIIY COUNTY 



the Keystone state until 1SS:2, Avhen he came 
to Iowa, settling near Charlotte, in Clinton 
coimty, where he owned and conducted a mill. 
George I. Thom was reared to manhood in 
Clinton county and 2'"i'sued his education in 
the schools of Charlotte and DeWitt. About 
1882 he came to Woodbury county, where he 
M'orked at the milling business, which he had 
learned imder the direction of his father. Later 
he turned his attention to farming and in 1887 
he came to Correction\-ille, where he began a 
transfer liusiness, conducting a dray and ex- 
press line, lie now ownis and employs several 
teams used in this business. He is messenger 
for the American Express Company and handles 
all the express that is transferred here. In the 
transfer business he has secured a large patron- 
age and is one of the successful and prosperous 
men of the town. He purchased here a good 
residence, wliicli he has remodeled and im- 
proved, and now has a very desirable home. 

Politically ]Mr. Thom is a stanch Kepublican, 
giving unfaltering support to the men and meas- 
ures of his party. He was elected and served as 
a member of the town council for about seven 
years and in 1902 he was chosen mayor of Cor- 
rectionville for a term of two years, so that he 
is the present incumbent in the office. He has 
ever liecn nmst loyal and true to the trusts re- 
posed in him and while he gives an economic 
and business-like administration his work is 
also characterized by a pi'ogressive spirit that 
has accomplislicd much good for tlie city. 

Mr. Tlioni was married in Woodbury county, 
XovenilxT I'l, 1879, to Miss Ellen M. Orner, a 
native of Wisconsin, who came to Woodbitry 
county when a maiden of eight summers. She 
was reared and educated here and is a daughter 
of Isaac Orner, a native of Ohio, who spent his 
youth in Indiana, wjjence he afterward went to 
Wisconsin and was married there to Elizalieth 
Ashmore, a native of that state. i\Ir. and ]\Irs. 
Thom hav(> seven children : Elizabeth Jane, who 
is a teacher of Woodbury county; George A., 
who holds a good business position ; ]\rai'garet. 



who is a student in the high school ; Robert, Er- 
nest, Raymond and Victor. They also lost their 
first born, John, who died in infancy. Mrs. 
Thom is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
cluirch and Mr. Thom belongs to the Masonic 
fraternity, being identified with the blue lodge 
at Correctionville and with Ivingsley Chapter, 
R. A. M. He served through all the chairs, in- 
cluding that of junior warden, and for two 
years has been master of the lodge. He is like- 
wise identified with the Knights of Pythias 
fraternity, has filled all of its offices and is a 
past chancellor, while on several occasions he 
has been representative to the grand lodge. Mr. 
Thom has been a resident of Woodbury county 
for a quarter of a centui'y, has seen the wild 
land transformed into good farms, fences built 
ami roads laid out, while towns and villages 
have sprung u]t and all the improvements of 
modern civilization have been introduced. As 
an early settler he deserves mention in this vol- 
ume, and, moreover, is entitled to recognition 
because of his active and helpful co-operation 
in many measures contributing to public prog- 
ress and improvement. 



F. M. MOLYXEUX. 



F. M. Molyneux is engaged in the practice 
of law in Woodbury county, making his home 
in Correctionville. He has practiced, how- 
ever, in the different courts of the state during 
the past eleven years and has been a resident 
of Iowa since 1867, while in Woodbury coun- 
ty he has lived since 1891. Mr. Molyneux was 
but a lad of nine years at the time of his 
arrival in Iowa, his birth having occurred in 
Sullivan county, Pennsylvania, January 24, 
IS.'iS. The family is of English lineage and 
was founded in America by William Moly- 
neux, the great-grandfather, who emigrated 
from England to America with his family, 
settling in the Keystone state. He was among 




F. M. MOLYXEUX AND FAMILY. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBrRY COUNTY 



201 



the early residents of Pennsylvania. At the 
time of the Eevolntionary war he was pressed 
into the British navy and served until he could 
make his escaise, when with three others he 
managed to gain his liberty and became a resi- 
dent of Sullivan county, Pennsylvania. Tiiom- 
as !Molyneux, the grandfather, was born in 
England and accompanied his parents to the 
United States. He grew to manhood, was mar- 
ried and among his children was Henry Moly- 
neux, also a native of Pennsylvania. He was 
reared in Sullivan county and was there mar- 
ried to Hiss Ella Warburton, also a native of 
England, who silent her girlhood days in the 
Keystone state. Henry Molyneux was a me- 
chanic of considerable ingenuity and ability 
and learned and followed the millwright's tra<lc. 
In 1867 he removed to Iowa, settling in Chero- 
kee covmty, where he worked as a millwright 
for several years. He then settled upon a 
liomestead farm, being one of the early resi- 
dents of Pilot township, wliere he spent his re- 
maining days. His wife was kilh'd in a tor- 
nado in 1894. 

F. M. Molyneux passed the days of liis boy- 
hood and youth on the old family honu'stead 
in ('herokee county, attended the common 
schools, afterward pursue(l a more advanced 
education in higher institutions of learning 
and subsequently became a teacher, following 
that profession for several years. He was 
later engaged in the real estate business at 
Wakefield and Chadron until he was admitted 
to tlie bar. He next took up the study of law 
and was admitted to the bar at Chadron, Ne- 
braska, in ISOS, while later he was admitted 
to practice before the supreme court of Iowa. 
He then entered upon his professional career 
in Nebraska and subsequently spent one year 
in travel, largely visiting the southern states, 
including Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Missis- 
sippi, Arkansas and Missouri. In 1892 he 
came to Correctionville, where he opened a 
law office and has since sectired a good patron- 
age. He practiced in all the courts of the 



.state and is a successful representative of the 
legal fratcrnit}', having accurate and compre- 
hensive knowledge of the principles of juris- 
prudence, while in the prejjaration of cases he 
is thorough and exact, carefully studying every 
point that may be brought to bear with force 
on his jDresentation of the case. 

Politically ]\Ir. ]\Iolyncux is a stanch Demo- 
crat anil supports the men and measures of the 
party with earnestness and zeal. He has been 
chosen by popular suffrage to the position of 
city counsel, acting in that capacity for a num- 
ber of years and in community affairs he is 
deeply interested, as is manifested by his active 
co-operation in many measures for the general 
good. 

In ISSi:! Mr. ilolyneux was united in mar- 
riage in Cherokee, Iowa, to Miss Jennie San- 
born, a native of New Hampshire, who was 
reared, however, in this state and educated in 
Cherokee. She successfully engaged in teach- 
ing prior to her marriage. She has become the 
mother of two children, Guy and Russell, who 
are students in the city schools. They also lost 
two children, Blanche, who died at the age of 
two years ; and Kay, who died at the age of 
three years. Mr. Molyneux has built a good 
residence in (^orrectionville and his family are 
very comfortably situated. Frati'rnally lie is 
a Master Mason and is ever true to the tenets 
of the craft, while in his life he exemplified 
its beneficent teachings. 



CHAPtLES E. RUGGLES. 

( 'harles E. Buggies, whose identification with 
business interests of Sioux City dated from 
1882 until the time of his death, was a furniture 
merchant whose energy and enterprise were 
numbered among his strong and salient char- 
acteristics. He was born in Fairfield, Ohio, 
May 2(), 18,5(i, his parents being Eli and Mary 
( Buggies) Buggies, both of whom were natives 
of Boston, Massacbusettes. The father removed 



203 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUPY COUNTY 



from that city to Fairticld, Ohio, and there en- 
gaged in the fiiruitiire and undertaking business 
for several years. He afterward located in 
Charlotte, Michigan, where he conducted a simi- 
lar enterprise for several years, but on account 
of ill health he removed to the south, where he 
has since made his home. He is now living re- 
tired and resides in Atlanta, Georgia. His wife 
died in Dawson, Georgia, in 1890. 

Charles E. Euggles was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Charlotte, ^Michigan, and became 
familiar witli the furniture business as his 
father's assistant there. He finally began busi- 
ness on his o\ni account in the same way and 
conducted a furniture store in Charlotte until 
1882, when he came to Sioux City. Here he 
entered into partnership with Captain Miller 
and established a furniture store at the corner 
of Ninth and Douglas streets. They conducted 
the business at that place for a few years, at the 
end of which time Mr. Euggles removed his 
stock to 413 Water street, wliere he conducted 
a retail furniture store tliroughout his remain- 
ing days. He was ill only a brief period and he 
died on the anniversary of his birth, May 26, 
1892. 

In 1883 Mr. Rugglcs had married iiiss Char- 
lotte S. Goldie, a native of Sioux C'ity and a 
daughter of Robert and ]\Iartha (Harris) Gold- 
ie. Her father is deceased and her mother, now 
Mrs. Charles F. Hoyt, resides in Sioux City. 
Sketches of both Robert Goldie and Charles F. 
Ho^i■ arc given on otlier pages of this volume. 
Two children were horn unto ^Ir. and ^Irs. Rug- 
gles, both of whom reside with their mother: 
Ralph Edwin, born Xoveudicr 4, 1886, and 
Glenn Goldie, born November 19, 1888. 

After her hiisband's death ilrs. Ruggles con- 
tinued the business for a short time and then the 
entire stock and building were destroyed by fire. 
Mr. Ruggles had been i|uite successful in his 
business affairs and enjoyed a large trade, so 
that he had accumulated a comfortable compe- 
tence and left his widow in good financial cir- 
cumstances. He was a Republican in his political 



views and he belonged to the Modern Woodmen 
('amp. He also belonged to Company H, of a 
Regiment of the Iowa ISTational Guard. He en- 
joyed the respect of his fellow men because he 
was always straightforward in his business 
transactions and true to the duties of both pub- 
lic anil jirivate life. His friends found him a 
social, genial man, and in his home he was ever 
devoted to the ^\■^■lf;lre and happiness of his wife 
and children. j\Irs. Euggles is a member of the 
First Congregational church here. She o^vns a 
nice residence at Xo. 1319 Pearl street, where 
she resides and which was built by iLr. Ruggles 
soon after their marriage. She also has a lot 
on Water street where the business block was 
lo,-arcd. 



PERRY S. SUMMERS. 

Perry S. Summers, who is engaged in general 
merchandising at Hornick, where he has al- 
ready established himself in public favor so as 
to win a liberal patronage although he has been 
a resident here for but a brief period, was born 
in Jefferson county, Iowa, in 1871. His parents 
were Perry and Martha Summers, at one time 
residents of Ohio. In 1860 they removed west- 
ward and established their home upon a farm in 
Jefferson county, near Fairfield. There the 
father spent his remaining days in agricultural 
pursuits. Both he and his wife died upon that 
farm. He was of English descent, while Mrs. 
Summers was of German lineage. In their 
family were three children, two sons and a 
daughter, of whom the subject of this review 
was the youngest. 

Upon the home farm in Jefferson county 
Perry S. Summers was reared. His early educa- 
tional privileges were supplemented by a course 
of study in the Fairfield high school, in which 
he was graduated with the class of 1887. He 
afterward pursued a commercial course in the 
Fairfield Business College and was thus well 
equipped for a mercantile career. Later he 



PAST AXD PEESP:XT OF WOODBUEY COUXTY 



203 



went to Coon Eajiids, Iowa, where he engaged 
in clerking, and after his marriage there he 
came to Hornick and since 1902 has been iden- 
tified with the business interests of this f)lace. 
In May, 1903, he purchased the store of I. F. 
Searl and now carries a large and well selected 
stock of general merchandise. A liberal patron- 
age has been accoi-ded him because of his earnest 
desire to please his customers, his i-easonable 
prices and his straightforward business methods. 
While clerking in Coon Rapids Mr. Sum- 
mers formed the acquaintance of Miss Sadie 
Williams, a daughter of William P. Williams, 
a retired farmer of that place. They were mar- 
ried December 9, 1902, and then came to Hor- 
nick, where they have won many friends and 
the warm regard of those with whom they have 
come in contact. Mr. Summers is a Republican 
in his political affiliations and he belongs to 
Charity Lodge, ^o. 197, A. F. & A. M., of Coon 
Rapids. 



WILLIAM HOPPE. 



William Hoppe, whose fine farm of two hun- 
dred and forty acres, well cultivated and im- 
proved, is the visible evidence of his life of biis- 
iness activity and unfaltering energy, has been 
a resident of Iowa since 1882 and of Woodbury 
county since 1892. He is among the sons of 
Germany who have come to America to improve 
their financial conditions and have found in the 
business life of the new world the opjiortuni- 
ties they sought. He was born November 12, 
1855, in the fatherland and spent his youth up- 
on a farm there, while in the schools of his na- 
tive country lie mastered the elementary 
branches of learning. He had no training in the 
English tongue, however, and has acquired a 
knowledge thereof since coming to the United 
States. In accordance with tlie hiws of that 
land he joined the German army and was for 
three years connected with the military affairs 
of that countrv. 



On the 12th of February, 1882, William 
Hojjpe was united in marriage in Germany to 
Miss Louisa Hene, a native of the fatherland, 
and soon afterward they started for the United 
States, taking passage at Hamburg in a vessel 
bound for N^ew Y^ork, where they arrived on the 
19th of j\Iarch, 1882. Tliey at once resumed 
their journey across the country, traveling con- 
tinuously until they arrived at Scott county, 
Iowa, where they joined some German friends. 
There ^Ir. Hopjie worked as a farm liand for 
two years. He afterward went to Tama county, 
Iowa, where he rented a tract of land and en- 
gaged in farming for seven or eight years. In 
1892 he removed to Woodbury county, where he 
again rented land imtil 189-3, when he bought 
one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm 
on section 15, LTnion township. Five years 
later, his financial resources having greatly in- 
creased, he bought eighty acres adjoining and 
he now owns a valuable jn-operty of two hun- 
dred and forty acres. Unabating energy and 
unfaltering determimition are niimbered among 
his salient characteristics and his success has 
lieen achieved through these qualities. He re- 
built and remodeled a house, also built a large 
barn, two corn cribs and other OTitbuildings. 
Shade and fruit trees have been jdanted by him 
and he has also fenced the farm and erected a 
windmill and wind pump. Everything about 
the place is in excellent condition in keeping 
with the modern and progressive spirit of the 
times and as a farmer and stock-raiser he is 
meeting with very desirable success, keeping on 
hand good grades of stock and other farm ani- 
mals, while at the same time he is engaged in 
tlie cultivation of various cereals. 

LTnto Mr. and Mrs. Hoppe have been born 
four children : Lena, who is the wife of Fred 
Benedix, a resident farmer of Woodliury 
county ; Henry, who carries on farming on the 
old homestead ; William and Fritz, who are also 
under the parental roof. The parents were 
reared in the Lutheran faith and are communi- 
cants of that church. He gives his political 



204 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



support to the Republican party where national 
issues are involved and at local elections he 
votes independently regardless of party affilia- 
tions. He has been elected and served as school 
treasurer and has also been a trustee of the 
Woodbury County Mutual Insurance Company. 
He is one of the successful German- American 
citizens who have strong attachment for their 
adopted country, realizing that tbro\igh condi- 
tions that here exist they have had the ojipor- 
tunity to win success by the exercise of individ- 
ual business talent. 



HIAL A. WHEELER, A. :\1.. :\r. D. 

Dr. Hial A. Wheeler, general practitioner of 
Sioux City and professor of principles and 
practice of medicine and clinical medicine in 
the Sioux City College of Medicine, was born 
in Barton, Orleans county, Vermont, June 20, 
1854, his parents being Silas and Jane F. 
(Grow) Wheeler. The father was born August 
1, 1822, and the mother June 5, 1828. In early 
life he engaged in farming, but they are now 
residing in Chicago, where he is engaged in 
looking after trustee estates. He took \\p his 
abode in Lagrange, a sul)urb of Chicago, in 
1888. His paternal grandparents, James and 
Sally (Wilson) Wheeler, were natives of Xew 
Hampshire, the former born in 1795, tlie latter 
in 1798. The maternal grandfather, Orson 
Grow, was born in ^faine in 1800 and married 
Fanny Allbee, whose birtli occiirre(l in New 
England in 1S04. ]\lr. Grow died in 1875, his 
wife in 1898. Dr. Wlieeler attended the public 
schools at Barton, Vermont, and the Free Bap- 
tist Seminary at Lyndon Center, Vermont, 
which institution he attended for two years, but 
did not take the full graduate course. On leav- 
ing school he engaged in clerking in a mercan- 
tile estalJishment in Boston, ^Massachusetts, for 
a year. On the 9th of September, 1873, he ar- 
rived in LaSalle, Illinois, and engaged in teach- 
in<r in the countrv schools for two vears. In 



1S75 he drove a team across the countrv to 
^lonona county, Iowa, starting on the 12th of 
^[arch and reaching his destination on the 29th. 
He then rented a tract of land and engaged in 
farming and teaching school for two years, or 
until 1877. 

On the 27tli of September, 187G, Dr. Wheeler 
was married to ]Mary C. Ingham, of jMonona 
county, Iowa, a daughter of F. E. Ingham, a 
farmer and school teacher. In the meantime 
Dr. Wheeler had read meilicine and in 1S77 he 
went with his family to Iowa t'ity, where he 
uuUriculated in the medical (l(>]iartment of the 
Iowa State University, lieing graduated in 
ISSl. He then resided in Morse, where he 
practiced medicine for a brief period, but in the 
latter part of 1881 he removed to Riverside, 
Washington county, Iowa, where he continued 
in jn-actice until June 1, 1883, when he re- 
moved to Onawa, Monona county, and prac- 
ticed there trntil jSTovember 11, 1893. On the 
ex])iration of that decade he came to Sioux City, 
wlicre lie lias jn-acticed since, with gratifying 
success. He lielongs to the Siottx Valley Med- 
ical Society and the Missouri Valley ^ledical 
Society, and his reading and investigation keep 
him informed concerning the advance that is 
contimtally being made by the medical fra- 
ternity. He is very careful in the diagnosis of 
a case, ]iracti('al in his efforts to check disease, 
ami that his laliors are attended liy <lesired re- 
sults is indicated l)y the Imsiness which is ac- 
corded in'm. He is now dean of th(^ Sioux City 
College of Medicine, having occupiecl flie posi- 
tion for eleven years, while a recent election 
will continue him in the office for three more 
y(>ars. He is also professor of principles and 
])ractice of medicine and clinical medicine in 
that institution. He is the author and ptib- 
lisher of a work entitled Abstracts of Bharraa- 
cologv, which was accepted liy all colleges and 
universally used by druggists. It is the only 
work of the kind ever pidiHshed and accepted 
liv tlie colleges as autbority upon the subject of 
wbicli it treats. 




H.aOiAoU^O^^, 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



207 



Unto Dr. and Mrs. Wheeler have been born 
four children: J. Rush, born April 28, 1879, 
was married in December, 1!)01, to Miss Maud 
Statt'ord. He is the sujierintendent of the Light 
and Water plant at Hawarden, Iowa, and is 
well fitted for a successful business career be- 
cause of the educational advantages which were 
aiforded him. After spending one year in the 
high school at Sioux City, he A\'as for two years 
a student at Ames College and one year at the 
Leland Stanford University, of California, sub- 
sequent to which time he was graduated as an 
electrical engineer from the Scrauton Corre- 
spondence School, of Scrauton, Pennsylvania. 
E. Ruel Wheeler, the second sou, born March 6, 
1881, is a graduate of the Sioux City College 
of Medicine and is now practicing in Leeds. 
He was married to Miss Nellie Young, in 
March, 1903. A. Uuiy Wheeler, born April 16, 
1885, is employed in the train service of the 
Chicago, MilwaiTkee ir St. Paul Railroad Com- 
pany. Jessie J. Wheeler, burn June 20, 1886, 
is attending ^Morningside College, at Sioux 
City. 

Dr. Wheeler is an Odd Fellow and has filled 
all the chairs of his local lodge. He is also a 
member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. 
In politics he is a stanch Republican. He and 
the family attend the Congregatioiml church 
and are well known in social circles of the city, 
while Dr. Wheeler occupies a position in pro- 
fessional ranks that indicates a studious, care- 
ful preparation and a conscientious devotion to 
the demands of a large practice. 



TOHK McNIFF. 



For tweh'e years this gentleman has now 
made his home in Woodbury county and has 
been jiromiuently identified with her agricul- 
tural interests, owning and operating a good 
farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Liston 
township. His early home was on the other 
side of the Atlantic, for he was boi-n in Ireland 



in 1S31: and there spent the first thirteen years 
<>{ his life. He attended the public schools of 
his native land to a limited extent but his edu- 
cational privileges were limited and he is almost 
wholly a self-educated as well as a self-made 
man. 

It was in 18-17 that he crossed the Atlantic 
in company with his parents, John and 
Mary (McGoff) MclSTiff, and landed in Quebec. 
From that city he went to Leeds, Canada, 
where he spent six or seven years, and 
then made his home in Hurou county. Up- 
per Canada, until 1880, which year wit- 
nessed his arrival in the LTnited States. He 
first located in Iowa, purchasing a farm of one 
hundred and sixty acres three miles from Battle 
Creek, where he lived until coming to Wood- 
l)ury county, Iowa, in 1892. In early life he 
engaged in lumbering and also woi-ked in a saw- 
mill to some extent but has made farming his 
principal occupation. There he purchased a 
tract of railroad land, for which he paid five 
dollars per acre, being allowed three years in 
which to make the payments, but the property is 
now worth seventy-five dollars per acre. After 
operating it for some time he sold the place for 
twenty-five dollars per acre and bought his pres- 
ent farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Lis- 
ton townshij), for which he paid twenty dollars 
per acre and which is now worth seventy-five 
dollars j)er acre. The j^lace is improved with 
good and substantial buildings. In connection 
with general farming Mr. McNiff is engaged in 
stock-raising to some extent and has twenty- 
eight head of cattle and five horses upon his 
place. 

Mr. McXifi' was niarrird on Ajn-il U?, 187-4, 
in ^lorris townshij), Huron county, Canada, in 
the Catholic church by Father Ausbury, to Miss 
Mary Ann Lynn, a native of Canada, born Au- 
gust 1, 1850, who came to the United States 
when twenty-five years of age. Five children 
have been born unto them, namely: John Pat- 
rick, who was born February 12, 1875, and is 
now eugac'cd in farming; James Andrew, who 



208 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



was lx>rn Xoveinl)er i'!», IsTCi, mid operates the 
home farm; Thomas ^Michael, who was born 
January 8, IST'.i, ami was drowned one mile 
above Danburv, May L'fi, IS'.m;, at the age of 
seventeen years, while a stndent in the schools 
of that place; Mary Angela, who was born An- 
gust '27, ISSl, and resides at home and has snc- 
cessfnlly engagc<l in teaching in the jmblic 
schools of the connty for two or three years ; 
and Francis Joseph, who was born ^[ay 10, 
1SS9, and is attending school in Danlniry. 

In his political views Mr. McXitf is a stanch 
Democrat. He was reared in tlie Catholic faith 
and is now connected with St. Patrick's Cath- 
olic chnrch at Danbnry. He lias always been 
a hard-working, energetic man, and the snecess 
that has come to him is dne entirely to his own 
well directed etlVirts, f(n- he started ont in life 
ciiipty-lianded. 



FKKDEIUCK W. AXTIIOX. 

Frederick W. Aiithon, who was connected 
with the bnsiness interests of Sionx City as pro- 
prietor of a hotel and grocery store for nearly 
thirty j^ears, established his home here in 1870 
and was therefore among the early settlers, con- 
tribnting to the development and progress of 
this portion of the state throngh his active bnsi- 
ness affairs and his hearty co-operation in many 
movements for the general good. He was a 
native of Frentzberg, Germany, born February 
10, 1836. Flis parents, Frederick W. and An- 
na Anthon, were also natives of the fatherland 
and never left that conntry. ^Ir. Anthon was 
a machinist by trade, carrying on that pursuit 
thi'oughont his entire life in sn|)port of his 
family. 

Frederick W. .Viithon acquired only a com- 
mon-school cdncation in the schools of Ger- 
many. He made two trips to America, arriving 
in this conntry tirst in 1856, at which time 
he settled in Daven.jiort, Iowa, where he en- 
gaged in the grocery business for several years. 
He then returned to Germany, remaining in 



the fatherland until 1870, when he once more 
crossed the Atlantic and took Tip his abode near 
Sioux C'ity. He first settled on a farm in the 
vicinity of Wolf (,'reck and was engageil in gen- 
eral agricultural pursuits there for a few years. 
He then remo\'ed to the city and was employed 
as a common laborer for a short time. On the 
ex2)iration of that period he purchased the Chi- 
cago Hotel, of which he was j^roprietor for 
nearly four years, when he sold out. He then 
entered into partnership with Xicholas Tiede- 
maii, wlio was also an early settler of Wood- 
bury county, and is now living retired in Sioux 
City. They established a retail grocery store 
at the corner of Fourth and Virginia streets 
and were there engaged in the grocery busi- 
ness for more than ten years, or from 1875 
until 1885, when Mr. Anthon sold out and re- 
tired. Mr. Anthon disposed of his Imsiness 
interests on account of ill health. He after- 
ward did a little bookkeejiing and other light 
work, but practically lived retired until his 
death. 

In 1875 ilr. Anthon was married to iiiss 
Katherinc A. ]\Iilli'r, a native of Germany, 
born October 27. 1S56, and a daughter of John 
and Anna ]\Iiller, both of whom are natives of 
the same country. ^Ir. [Miller was one of the 
very early settlers of Sioux City. In taking 
u]) his residence in America he located first at 
Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, whence lie 
afterward came to Woodbury county, where 
he has since made his home. He is now living 
retired, and both he and his wife reside with 
^frs. Anthon. He is well known here, having 
for many years been identified with its busi- 
ness aifairs and during the Civil war he made 
a creditable record by three years' service in 
defense of the Union. There were two chil- 
dren born imto Mr. and Mrs. Anthon: John, 
who died at the age of six months, and Fred- 
erick W., who is a mail carrier in Sioux City 
and resides with his mother. 

Fh'ederick W. Anthon dejiarted this life July 
5, 1901, amid the deep regret of many friends. 




F. W. AXTHOX. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



211 



He was never au office seeker, nor did he hold 
positions of public preferment, bvit he gave a 
stanch and unfaltering support to the Democ- 
racy. He belonged to the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows and in his life exemplified the 
beneficent spirit of the fraternity. He was 
especially prominent among the German- 
American citizens of Woodbury county and 
there M'cre in liis life record many elements 
worthy of emulation and of commendation. 
Mrs, Anthon owns a large residence at No. 
415 Virginia street, where she is living with 
her son and parents. She also owns prop- 
erty at the corner of Fourth and Steuben 
streets, within the business district of the city. 



NELSON A. WILLSEY. 

jSTelson A. Willsey, a farmer of Wolf Creek 
townshij:!, living on section '2S, has large landed 
possessions, his farm aggregating five hundred 
and twenty acres. Iowa has long been the state 
of his residence, for he located here in 1855. 
He is, therefore, familiar with its history and 
has witnessed the greater part of its growth 
and progress. He has seen railroad lines ex- 
tended into many parts of the state, while tele- 
gra^jli and telephone communications have 
been established. It is within his memory, too, 
when much of the land, especially in western 
Iowa, was still in possession of the government 
and when acre after acre was still raw and 
unimproved, just as it came from the hand of 
nature. He feels a just pride in what has been 
accomplished in the state and he is of the earn- 
est and enterprising citizens who have with- 
held neither effort nor their co-operation from 
movements for the general good. 

]\Ir. Willsey was born in Henry coiinty, near 
Galva, Illinois, November 17, 1846. His 
father, W. H. Willsey, was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, on the Cith of May, 1821, and was of 
German lineage. When a vonng man of about 



eighteen years he left the east and became a 
resident of Henry county, Illinois, in 1839. 
There he married Miss Jane Elizabeth Cun- 
ningham and they settled upon a farm in Henry 
coimty, Mr. Willsey transforming the wild tract 
into richly cultivated fields, which he continued 
to improve until about 1850. In that year he 
came to Iowa, settling first in Wright county, 
and in 1855 he removed to Winona county, 
locating in Maple Valley. There he opened up 
a large farm, owning nearly two thousand acres, 
and thus carrying on agricultural pursuits on 
an extensive scale he contributed in large meas- 
ure to the substantial upbuilding and growth of 
his community. He reai-ed his family there 
and subsequently he removed to Harrison 
county, where he again purchased and owned 
a large farm. His entire life was devoted to 
the work of tilling the soil and raising stock 
and his labors were attended with a high meas- 
ure of success, owing to his unfaltering per- 
severance and soimd jixdgment. He died Aug- 
ust 9, 1897, and thus passed away one of the 
honored pioneer residents of the state. 

Nelson A. Willsey, one of a family of eight 
children, of whom two sons and five daughters 
are now living, was reared in Iowa. As the 
family home was in a frontier region his edu- 
cational privileges were very limited, but he 
made the most of his opportixnities and by read- 
ing, study and observation has added largely 
to his knowledge and become a well informed 
uaan. In early life he engaged in teaching and 
was thus connected with the intellectual devel- 
opment of the state for some time. Later he 
turned his attention to farming in the county 
in which he was reared and became the owner 
of a large tract of land there, of six hundred 
and fifty-three acres, on which he placed many 
excellent improvements, in keeping with the 
modern ideas of agricultural jirogress. In the 
early daj'S much of the farm work was done 
by hand, but later machinery took the place of 
liand labor and the agriculturist was thus en- 
abled to do much more work than he had hith- 



212 



PAST AXD PRP:SEXT OF WOODBrU'Y t'OUXTY 



erto accomplished in the same time. Mr. Will- 
sev has used the latest improved machinery, has 
practiced the rotation of crops, has studied 
closely the condition of the soil and has so 
guided his laliors that excellent results have 
attended him. In 1895 he removed to Wood- 
hurv cotinty and bought his present place, com- 
prising five hundred and twenty acres. This 
is a well improved and valuable farm. He re- 
built and remodeled the house, also built a 
large barn and has now a property which is 
thoroughly equipped with modern conveniences. 
He has made a btisiness of the raising and 
feeding of cattle which he fattens for the mar- 
ket, shipping annually fi-om six to fifteen car- 
loads of stock. In 1S1»1 he rented his land 
and removed to Anthon in order to educate his 
children. There he was engaged in general 
merchandising and later he built a neat resi- 
dence and also a business block, making his 
home in the town for over three years, but 
he then sold the store and business and returned 
to the farm in the spring of 1004. 

On the loth of October, lS(j!>, in Winona 
county, Iowa, Mr. Willsey was married to IMiss 
Margaret Miickey, a native of Wisconsin and 
a daughter of Joseph ^luckey, who came fi-om 
Wisconsin to Inwa, l)Ut was a native of Xew 
York. Unto :\lr. and ilrs. Willsey have been 
born seven children, who are yet living: Ver- 
non H., a substantial farmer residing in Wolf 
Creek township ; W. J., who owns a farm of 
one hundred and si.xty acres in Brule county. 
South I)ak<.ta; Millie :\Iny, the wife of B. F. 
Curance, a farmer of Wolf ('reek township; 
Minnie Pearl, the wife of H. H. Branum, of 
Nebraska; Harriet E., the wife of George Gil- 
lette; and John J. and Clarissa, lioth at home. 

Mr. Willsey has been called to public office 
and ill various positions has discharged his 
duties in a most capable manner. He has been 
township trustee and townshi]) treasurer and 
was also justice of the peace for a number of 
years, in whicli office his decisions were char- 
acterized with the utmost fairness and impar- 



tiality. Politically he is a stanch Republican 
and although ho has been called to jjositions of 
political preferment he has never been a poli- 
tician in the sense of office seeking. His wife 
and children are members of the Methodist 
Kj)iscopal clnirch and he belongs to the Inde- 
jjcndent Order of Odd Fellows at Anthon, and 
to the Knights of Pythias lodge there. There 
have been no exciting chajiters in his life record, 
but his history proves the sure rewards of char- 
acter and indicates what may be accomplished 
when one has strong determination. In public 
office he has been a practical man of affairs, 
liusy and energetic and he has attained envi- 
able success. In his home he is a pleasant and 
agreeable com]iaiiion and in whatever place or 
relation found lie is a gentleman of genuine 
Worth, wlioiii to know is to honor. 



.MAKK i). CORD. 



This gentleman is entitled to distinction as 
one of the most progressive and enterjjrising 
business men of Woodbury county and has for 
twenty-two years been identified with the in- 
terests of Danliury, where he is successfully en- 
gaged in the real estate, loan and insurance bus- 
iness. Upon the commercial activity of a com- 
munity depends its prosjierity and the men 
who are recognized as leading citizens are those 
who are at the head of successful business en- 
ter])rises. ]Mr. Cord is a man of broad capa- 
bility who carries forward to successful com- 
|iletion whatever he undertakes. 

A native <:)f Wisconsin, he was born in Kau- 
kauna, June 21, 1863, his parents being 
Charles and :\rary A. (Knapp) Cord. The 
father was born in Lincolnshire, England, and 
was eighteen years of age Avlien he came to 
.Vnierica. By trade he was a miller, having 
followed that occupation in his native land. 
From Xew York he made his way westward 
to ^lilwaukee, Wisconsin, and was a I'esident of 
that state for nineteen vears, after which he 



PAST AXD PKESEXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



213 



removed to Aiiaiuosa, Iowa, where he spent ten 
years. He next made his hiime in Oakhmd, 
Xebraska, and from there returned to Iowa, 
locating in Emerson, twenty-fire miles west of 
Sionx City, where he died on the 7th of March, 
188."), at the age of fifty-one years. His esti- 
mable wife, who was born in i^ew York, in 
lS3i, still survives him and now makes her 
liome in Effingham, Illinois. In their family 
were five children, namely: Kate A., now the 
wife of William Kyke ; ^liiniie, who married 
Howard Parmelee and died in Lincoln. Xe- 
bra.ska, in ]\rarch, 1004, at the age of forty-five 
years; Charles E., who is married and is en- 
gaged in the practice of medicine in Chicago ; 
IMark D., of this review; and Geoi'ge D., who 
is married and makes his home in Delmont, 
South Dakota, where he is connected with the 
Security State Bank and is also engaged in the 
real estate btisiness. 

During his boyhood and youth ]\Iark 1). ( 'i.ird 
accompanied his j^arents on their various re- 
movals and received a good practical educa- 
tion in the common schools. I)uring his resi- 
dence in Oakland, Nebraska, he was employed 
in a mill and after coming to Danbury, Iowa, 
he helped to build the mill here and worked 
in the same for three years and a half. It was 
on the 30th of May, 1882, he arrived at this 
place and since giving up his position in the 
mill in 1885 has devoted his time and energies 
to the real estate, loan and insurance business 
with marked success. He has bought and sold 
much farm ]n-operty and has been very fortu- 
nate in his real estate dealings, making con- 
siderable in this way. He has made judiciotis 
investments and is to-day the o^\^ler of between 
two and three thousand acres of fine farming 
laud in Woodbury and Ida counties. 

On the 13th of February, 1887, Mr. Cord 
was united in marriage to Miss Ella Gray, a 
native of Indiana and a <laughter of Thomas 
J. Gray. She is a graduate of the Danbury 
high school and for two or three years suc- 
cessfullv eno-aced in teachino- school after her 



graduation. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cord have 
been born five children, whose names and dates 
of Inrth are as follows : Xellie, June 21, 1889 ; 
John C, April 21, 1891 ; Marie, May 30, 1895 ; 
Charles, April 15, 1900; and ilark, Octolier 
9, 1902. 

The Reptiblican party finds in ^Lr. Cord a 
stanch supjjorter of its principles and his fel- 
low citizens recognizing his worth and ability 
have called ujaon him to fill the offices of mayor 
anil councilman as well as other positions of 
honor and trust. He is a prominent Mason, 
belonging to Danbury Lodge, Xo. 387, A. F. 
& A. M. ; Monona Chapter, Xo. 115, R. A. M., 
at Mapleton ; Cohnnbia Commandery, K. T. ; 
and El Kahir Temple of the Mystic Shrine, 
at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He stands high both 
in business and social circles and is regarded 
as one of the leading citizens of his jjart of 
the countv. 



JEREMIAH KELLY. 

Jeremiah Kelly, who is now living a retired 
life in Sioux City is among the adopted sons 
of the LTnited States who, coming to this coun- 
try M'ithout cajiital, have found in its business 
conditions the opjJortiinitics which they sought 
for achieving success, and who through their 
earnest labor and persistency of puri^ose have 
become possessed of a comfortable comj^etence. 
Such has been the life record of Mr. Kelly, 
whose frugality and industry have made him 
the jJossessor of property interests that now en- 
able him to live a I'etired life. 

Mr. Kelly was born in Ireland in 1823, a 
son of Cornelius and Mary (Hennigan) Kelly, 
\\dio were also natives of the Emerald Isle, the 
father dying in that country. Jeremiah Kelly 
was reared and educated in his native coun- 
try and came to the United States in 1849, 
when about twenty-six years of age. He land- 
ed at Boston, ^Massachusetts, and afterward 
went to Xew Hampshire, where he followed 



214 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



farming and also worked as a common laborer 
until 1857. Believing the middle west would 
furnish him better business opijortunities he 
then came to Sioux City, arriving here on the 
23d of ilav of that year. Here he was em- 
ployed in various ways for a time and later 
he procured a tract of land in \\-hat is known 
as Bacon's Hollow and began farming. When 
the Sioux City iV Pacific Railroad was built to 
Sioux City he erected the Mountaineer Hotel, 
at the corner of Virginia and Fourth streets, and 
conducted it with success for about nine years. 
He then returned to his farm and in connec- 
tion with its cultivation he also did various 
odd jobs, successfully turning his hand to many 
kinds of labor. During this time he rented 
the hotel, but when Sioux City experienced its 
first boom he sold his property to good advan- 
tage, and 2)urchased of S. T. Davis a residence, 
which he occupied from ISSH until T.M)-!:, 
when he sohl the iimperty. Economy, careful 
management, good l)nsiness judgment and en- 
ergy have brought to him the sticcess which 
he now enjoys and which makes him one of 
the substantial citizens of northwestern Iowa. 

Mr. Kelly was married in 18.54 to ]\riss 
Bridget Claneey, who was Imrn in Ireland in 
182G, and came to the United States in the 
same year in which her hnsliand crossed the 
Atlantic, landing also in Boston. They were 
married in Exeter, Xew Hampshire, and her 
death occurred in October, 1901. She was a 
member of the Catholic church, to which ~S\r. 
Kelly also l)elongs, and he gives his political 
support to the Democratic party. 



JUDGE GIEFORD S. ROBIXSOX. 

Judge Critl'oril Simeon Robinson, late chief 
justice of the supreme court of Iowa and now 
chairman of the board of control of the state, 
is one of the most conspicuous figures in the 
history of jurispnidence in this state, having 
gained distinctive preferment at the bar, which 



led to higher honors until lie was called to the 
most important otiice within the gift of the 
state of Iowa in connection with tiic judiciary 
department. He entered njxm the practice of 
iiis profession in IS"** ami his success came 
soon, because his ('([uipment was unusually good, 
he having been a close and earnest student of 
the fundnnieiita! princ-iples of law. Strung 
mentality and forceful individimlity, combined 
with deej) and unselfish interest in the welfare 
of his adopted state, have so entered into his 
nature as to render him a leader of public 
thought and a molder of piiblic opinion. 

Judge Robinson has spent his entire life in 
the ALississiijpi Valley, lie was born in Tre- 
mont, Tazewell county, Illinois. May 28, 1843, 
an<l \\-as reared upon a farm, to the work of 
which his attention was directed through the 
STimmer season, while in the winter months he 
had the opportunity of acqiiiring a much covet- 
ed education, his district school privileges being 
supplemented by study in an academy. An ex- 
IJerience entirely dirt'erent from anything he 
had as yet known came to him when he was 
nineteen years of age. His coinitry was in- 
volved in Civil war and the patriotism of his 
nature being strongly aroused he offered his 
services in defense of the Union, becoming a 
member of Company II, One Hundred and 
Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, with which he re- 
mained in active service until after the battle 
of Chickamauga, in which he sustained a se- 
rious wound that incajiacitated him for fui'ther 
field service and caused his discharge May 27, 
1864. 

Following his return home Judge Robinson 
engaged in teaching district schools for a year 
and then resumed his own study at the Illinois 
State Normal School, at Xornial, Illinois, 
where he spent two years. During two years' 
service as a tutor in Washington University at 
St. Louis, Missotiri, he also gave considerable 
time to study in the law dei^artment of that 
institution, and in ^lay, 1869, on the comple- 
tion of the rco'ular course, he was graduated 




^;--^tL-^<yL^ 




i| 



PAST AXD r]{ESP]NT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



217 



and was ailniitteil to practice in the state and 
federal courts of Missouri. 

Since 1870 he has been a member of the 
Iowa bar, beginning practice in that year at 
Storm Lake, where he remained for eighteen 
veai-s. He has gained distinguished honors and 
successes as a representative of his chosen call- 
ing, owing to the ability without which there is 
no advancement in his held i)t' labor. lie has 
moreover exercised strong and beneticial influ- 
ence in j^ublic affairs and has been the ac- 
kuiiwleilgccl leader in many movements which 
have had as their basic element the progress 
of the commonwealth. In 1875 he was elected 
a member of the Iowa legislature, and the fol- 
lowing year he was appointed by Governor 
Kirkwood a member of the board of directors 
of the new state Normal School at Cedar Falls, 
and was active in the organization and man- 
agement of that institution for nearly six years. 

In 1881 Judge Robinson was called iipon to 
represent his district in the state senate and 
was re-elected in 1885. In 1887 ho was elected 
a judge of the supreme cdurf cd' his state and 
in 18'.l3 was renominated by acclamation and 
re-elected for a second term of six years, so 
that he served upon the bench in the court of 
last resort in Iowa for twelve years and for 
three years was cluef justice of Ihe state. A 
man of unimpeachable character, of unusual 
intellectual endowments, with a thorough un- 
derstanding of the law, patience, urbanity and 
industry, he took to the bench the very highest 
qualiticatious for this most responsible office 
in the state government, and his record as a 
judge was in harmony with his record as a 
man and a lawyer, distinguished by unswerv- 
ing integrity and a masterful grasp of every 
pi'oblem presented for solution. Upon his re- 
tirement from the bench he joined his son, 
Leomird I]. Robinson, in tlic practice of law in 
Sioux f'ity, and was thus engaged for a few 
months. 

Judge Robinson, in A]>ril, 1872, had mar- 
ried !Mrs. Janette E. Gorham, formerly precep- 



tress of the Kansas State i^ormal Schuol at 
Emporia, Kansas, who died in Xovember, 181I3. 
There were four children of this marriage. 

Judge Robinson is not only widely known 
as a lawyer, lawmaker and judge, but also 
as a lectTirer upon the subject of jurisprudence, 
for in 1890 he was appointed to such a posi- 
tion in connection with the law department of 
the State T'niversity of Iowa, and so continued 
until lliflO. In 1895 the university conferred 
n]ion him the degree of Doctor of Law. He 
was a])]iointed by Govei'nor Shaw a mend)cr of 
the board of conti'ol of state institutions, Feb- 
I'uary 27, 1900, ancl is now connected there- 
with. He has always been a supporter of the 
Itejjublican party, but in office has ever placed 
the welfare of the commonwealth before par- 
tisanship and the advancement of piddic meas- 
ures before personal aggrandizement. His 
course has been such as to reflect honor and 
creilit u|ion the state that had honored him. 



(). A. P.VTTKRSOX. 

(). A. J'atterson has reached the seventy- 
seventh mile-stone on life's journey and is now 
living retired in Sioux City. Xature seems to 
have intended that man slundd enjoy a period 
of rest in the evening of life. In early man- 
hood he is full of vigor, energy and hopeful 
plans; later comes more mature judgment to 
guide his actions and render his labors effective 
as factors in the business world ; and then with 
advanced age his powers are somewhat dimin- 
ished, although in intellectual and moral 
strength his growth may be continuous. It is 
well when his efforts of mature manhood have 
resulte<l in the acquirement of a handsome com- 
petence that enables him to <'njoy leisure and 
rest in later life. Such has been the career 
of ~S[r. Patterson, now an honored and esteemed 
resident of Sioux (.'ity. He was born in Craw- 
fordsville, Indiaim, in 1827, a sou of Peter H. 
and Elizabeth ( liausmaii ) I'atterson. Ilisjia- 



218 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



rents WIT MKin-icd July iZ, ISIS. The father 
died iu Ciilit'dniia in 1857 and the mother 
passed away on tiie 15th of October, 1S5S. 

When Imt fourteen years of age O. A. Pat- 
terson came wiih liis parents to Iowa, tlie fam- 
ily home lieinn- established at Iowa City, where 
he eontinned his education in the public schools. 
In 1850 he ])nrchased the di-ng store of United 
States Scnatdr Harlan of Inwa City and eon- 
ducted it for a number <if years or until 1S70, 
when he removed to Sioux City and purchased 
the druo' store previously owned by Charles 
Kent. This he conducted for about thirteen 
years, enjoying a large and ]>rotitable patron- 
age, and in 1S80 he retired to ]irivate life and 
has since been connected with no business en- 
terprise. In eouunnnity affairs, however, he 
has always taken a deeji interest and has given 
helpful sup]wrt to many public measures of 
iicnetit to the locality. 

Mr. Patterson was married October 3, 1855, 
to ]\riss Eliza A. Sanders, who died in the year 
1863, and their children were: Lela and Lucv, 
both at home: Charles, who ilied Septcanber 5, 
18G1; Fannie, the wife of Charles W. Haller, 
of Omaha, .Vebraska : and ]\Irs. Eliza Corbett, 
who is a widow and resides at home. In 1870 
]\rr. Patterson was again married, his second 
union being with Cornelia Wilson, who -was 
born in 1 >;:!(!, and is a daughter of Thomas W. 
and Catherine S. Wilson. Her parents were 
natives of Philadelithia, Pennsylvania, and 
came to Iowa in 1851, locating on a farm near 
Iowa City. Tluy wei'e niarrh^d in 1827 and 
Mr. Wilson jiassed away October IC, 1885, at 
tile ad\ance(l age of seventy-seven years, while 
his wife died on the ■_'2d of January, 18S7, 
at the age of eighty-one years. In the family 
were six cliildren: .\nnie E., who died in 
1858; Samuel: Mai-y ,F.: Olivia and Cornelia, 
twins; and James S., who jiassed away on 
Christmas day of T.M)3. ^Virs. Patterson is the 
president of the Women's Christian Associa- 
tion, which position she has occupied for the 
]iast twenty years. This association conducts 



a sanitarium which is one of the most worthy 
institutions ,,f the city and she is also con- 
nected with other lienevolent enterprises and 
charitable institutions here. Both ^Ir. and 
^Irs. Patterson are members of the Unitarian 
church. 



JOHN DIXKEN. 



John DiiK'en, \vho is tilling the position of 
chief of police of Sioux City, was born in 
(ialena, Illinois, August 6, 1860, his parents 
being Timothy and ]Mary (ilcGuire) Dineen, 
who were natives of County Cork, Ireland. 
The father came to America at an early age, 
settling in Galena, Illinois, where he followed 
the wagonnuiker's trade. He died December 
31, 1865, and his wife passed away on the 7th 
of Janmiry, 1808. He was a member of the 
Catholic churi'h. In the family were three 
children, of \\-hi:im John is the eldest. His 
brother William resides iu Siotix City, where 
he is connected with the Terminal Railroad 
Company, and Clara has been a successful 
teacher iu the city schools for the past seventeen 
years. 

John l)ineen |mrsued his education in the 
pnblii- schools, which he attended until twelve 
years of age. He afterward worked as a farm 
hand and in 1885 he took up his abode in 
SiouN City, where he secured emplojauent at 
teaming. On the 15th of June, 1887, he was 
a]>poinfed <leputy under James F. Shanley, 
the dejnity marshal, and served in that capacity 
until Mai-cli l'5, ISS'.i, when he was appointed 
assistant chief of the tire dejiartment of Sioux 
City by the city council. He continued in that 
position for eleven years and was captain of 
hose company Xo. 1 for four years. He was 
next a]i]ioiuted chief of police on the 1st of 
.Vjiril, l!t04, and is now at the head of the 
department. His jjrevious service is a guar- 
antee of capability and loyalty in his present 
]iosition an<l already he has won the high com- 




JOII.V IHXEKX. 



PAST \SD riJESKXT OF \V(M)| 



K'Y C'OrXTY 



231 



meiidatioii and trust n{ the piililic by his per- 
fonnaiiee of duty at the liead of the police de- 
partment. 

On the li'lh (if January, ISUo, in St. Clary's 
C'atliolie elnirch of Sion.x City, Mr. Dineen was 
married by the Rev. Timothy Traeey to iliss 
Florence E. Stewart, who was born in Stuart, 
Iowa, January 5, 1867, and is a daughtei- of 
•Tames Stewart, a native of Pennsylvania, wlio 
came to Iowa about ISOS and settled iieai- 
Stuart, this state. At a later day he removed 
to ( 'lay Point, South Dakota, and his death 
occurred in Centerville, that state, in 1900. 
The mother died during the early girlhood of 
]\irs. Dineen and Mr. Stewart afterward mar- 
ried again. ,Mrs. Dineen was the only chihl of 
the first tniion, but tliere were eight children 
liy the second marriage. Her father ^\-as a 
Presbyterian by religious faith. Unto ]\lr. 
and Mrs. Dineen has been born a son, John 
F., whose birth occurred March 29, 1894, and 
who is now attending school. 

Mr. Dineen is a Democrat in his jjfjlitieal 
affiliation and is recognized as one of the lead- 
ing working memliers of his party in Sioux 
( ity. Fraternally be is connected with the 
Brothei-hood of American Yeoman and with the 
Improved Order of Red Men and is now great 
junior sachem of the Great Council of Iowa. 
Religiously he is connected with the Catholic 
Cathedral in Sioux City. 



J. B. HART. 



J. B. Hart, living on section -i, Rock town- 
ship, is numbered among the thrifty and suc- 
cessful farmers and stock-raisers of Woodbury 
county, his landed possessions comprising one 
hiuidre<l and forty acres. His place is equipped 
with mo<lern accessories and conveniences which 
indicates that his farming methods are in keep- 
ing with the progi-essive spirit of the times. 
Upon this place he has resided continuously 
since 1875. 



,Mr. Hart was born in Fronleiiae comity, 
CaiKKhi. near Kingston, on the l.'ith of .\pril, 
1S(;4, and is a son of James C. and Ada ( Ran- 
<lol])h) Hart. His j)ateriial grandfather, Jo- 
seph Hart, was a native <if Michigan and, be- 
coming a resident of Canada, there reared his 
family. It was there that .lames C. jhirt was 
boni on the I-'tli of Septi-iiilier, [S-Ji, and in 
the Dominion he was i-eared and educated. 
When a young man he went to ('alifornia bv 
way of the water route, sailing around Cape 
Horn, and was \-ery successful in his mining 
ventures on the Pacific coast. He returned by 
way of the same route, but while he went to 
the far west in a sailing vessel the return i)as- 
sage was made in a steamshij). He was mar- 
ried in Canada to .Miss Ada Randolph, a na- 
tive of that country, and lo-ating uiion a farm 
there they reared their family of seven chil- 
dren. In 1ST.") they removed to Iowa. The 
jirevious year Mv. Hart had visited this state, 
had jiurchased raw land and made some im- 
Iirovements thereon, after which he returned 
for his family and with them located upon the 
farm which is now the home of J. B. Hart. 
With characteristic energy he began to culti- 
vate and improve this property and transformed 
a tract of one hundred and forty acres into a 
rich and productive farm. He spent many 
years here, but eventually went to California 
for his health in 1894 and died in the Golden 
state in that year. His wife still survives him 
and is a well preserved lady of seventy years. 
In their family were four sons and five daugh- 
ters: Two sons who died in infancy; Mrs. 
Xettie Hoffman, a widow, who resides in Den- 
ver, Colorado: J. R, of this review; Mrs. 
Aurilla .Morgan, a widow residing in Sioux 
county. Iowa : Olive, the wife of "Wayne Twit- 
chell, of Plattsmouth, Xeliraska ; Eliza, who is 
living in Seattle, Washington ; Rose, the wife 
of Clarence Rouse, of Minnesota ; and Herbert 
B., who is living with his mother on a farm in 
Rock township, Woodbury county. 

J. B. Hart spent the first twelve years of 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODIUKV COlXTY 



his life in his uativc eoiintrv and then accom- 
panied his parents <in their removal to Iowa. 
He was reared on the home farm and pursued 
his education in the district schools of the 
neighborhood. The occupation which claimed 
his attention in yoiith has also been that to 
which he has given his energy in mature years. 
He purchased the interest of the other heirs in 
the old home place and has carried on the work 
of improvement here. Well tilled fields sur- 
round the good buildings. There is a neat res- 
idence in the rear of which are substantial 
barns and sheds. Pie also has waterworks and 
an ice house upon his place, and, in fact, this 
is one of the best improved properties of the 
township. Shade and ornamental trees add to 
the value of the farm as well as to its attractive 
appearance, and au orchard yields it fruits in 
season, lie jiroduccs the cereals best adapted 
to soil and climate and in addition is engaged 
in the raising of good graded cattle and Duroc 
Jersey hogs. 

On Christmas day of 1898 was celebrated 
the marriage of Mr. Hart and Miss Florence 
Rollins, who was born in Alton, Illinois, a 
daughter of Thomas Rollins, who was a native 
of Kngland. After coming to the United States 
he located in Illinois, subsequently removed to 
Iowa and after residing for some time in Da- 
kota he returned to this state, settling in Wood- 
Imrv county. j\[rs. Hart largely spoilt her girl- 
hond days in Iowa and prior to her marriage 
was engaged in teaching. There is one daugh- 
ter of this marriage, Ethel Blanche. 

Politically Mr. Hart is independent, voting 
for men and measures without regard to party. 
He has served on the school board, has been 
school treasurer and also president of the board, 
and the cause of education finds in him a very 
warm and lieljifnl friend. He is a mcnubor of 
the Modern Woodmen r'ani|i at Correctionville 
and he has a wide acquaintance in Rock toAvn- 
slii]!. where has has lived continnously for al- 
most thirty years. His life history is as an 
ri|)eu book wliii'h all may I'cad and the fact 



tliat many who have known him from boyhood 
are numbered among his stanchest friends is 
an indication that his has been a most honor- 
able and useful career. 



GEORGE F. HUGHES. 

George Franklin Hughes, who has never 
sought to figure before the public in any light 
save that of a business man, has through his 
enterprise, energy and honorable methods in 
trade relation, won the respect and confidence 
of his fellow men and has contributed to the 
business activity which is the foundation of 
the pros[)erity and growtii of e\-cry town and 
city. He has been a lumber merchant of Hor- 
nick since 18US and in the passing years his 
business has expanded until it has reached grat- 
ifying and jn'ofitable ])ro[iortioiis. 

Mr. Hughes is a native of Jasper county, 
Missouri, born July 28, 1869, his birthplace 
being his father's farm near Carthage. He is 
a son of Daniel E. and Elmina Hughes, who 
are now resi<ling on a farm near Carleton, Ne- 
braska. The father is of English and German 
descent and is a native of Iowa. The mother 
is of English and Scotch lineage. In early 
maidiood he taught school but during the great- 
ei' part of his business career he has carried 
on agricultural pursuits. His political alle- 
giance is given the Repiiblican party. He is 
of medium stature, weighs about one hundred 
and fifty pounds and is of sandy complexion. 
His wife is tall and light, weighs about one 
Inindrcd and thirty-five pounds, and is of a 
very atlVctionate and tender-hearted nature. 
Her religious faith is manifest in her everyday 
life and she is a most excellent nighbor and 
kind friend, while to her family she is very 
devoted. It was the ambition of the parents 
to give their children good educational privi- 
h'ges and thus equip them well for life's prac- 
tical and responsible duties. They had eight 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBl^RY COUNTY 



323 



children, four sons and four daughters. The 
sons are George ¥., Oliver F., Clarence and 
Harry. Oliver, who resides on a farm near 
Xewcastle, Nebraska, is married and has two 
children, Joseph and Harry. Harry is upon 
tile home farm. The daughters are Addie and 
Angie, twins, 'May and Cora. The last two are 
upiiu the home farm, but the twins are mar- 
ried. Addie is the wife of Jacob Riddle, a 
machinist of Wisconsin, and they have two 
children; and Angie is the wife of Peter Paltze, 
also a machinist of Wisconsin. 

George F. Hughes remained a resident of 
Missouri until eleven years of age, when in 
1S80 he accompanied his parents on their re- 
moval to Dixon county, Nebraska, the family 
home being etablished on a farm near New- 
castle, where he remained for fi^'e years. He 
then started out in life on his own account and 
secured employment in Ponca, Nebraska, where 
he worked for his board and attended school, 
being graduated in 1891 from the high school 
of that place. He afterward went to Jeffer- 
son, Union county. South Dakota, to take 
charge of the lumber business of E. E. Hal- 
stead, now a banker at Ponca, Nebraska, and 
there he remained until 1895, in which year he 
located in Rodney, Iowa, and entered upon 
an independent business career as a merchant, 
purchasing the lumber yard of W. G. Kennedy 
i: Son. He conducted the enter]n-ise for about 
three years and on the 2Sth of July, 1898, be- 
gan business in Hornick, purchasing the lum- 
lier yard of S. L. Spencer. In this he has 
since continued. He has remodeled his plant 
and is now engaged in dealing in lumber, posts 
and coal, all kinds of building materials and 
sewer Jiipe and tiling. His business has con- 
stantly grown under his cai-eful supervision 
and he has a good trade from a reliable class 
of citizens. He has laid one hundred and fifty 
feet of cement sidewalk in front of his lumber 
i and coal yard and office. He has one of the 
' liest lumber yards in the county, with a large 
inildiiii;' fur drv lumber, coal and other com- 



modities, and his office is well equipped and 
convenient. 

On the loth of June, 1S98, Mr. Hughes was 
united in marriage to Miss Minnie E. Thomp- 
son, of Ponca, Nebraska, a daughter of Mrs. 
A. C. Thompson. They have two children : 
Lynwood Frank, born June 6, 1901 ; and 
^luriel Joyous, born April 12, 1903. Mr. 
Hughes is a member of Hornick Lodge, No. 
157, I. O. O. F., of Hornick, where he has 
filled all the chairs. He takes an active inter- 
est in its work and in his life exemplifies its 
beneficent and fraternal teachings and princi- 
ples. He also takes a deep interest in politics 
and is a local leader of the Republican party. 
He co-operates in many movements for the ben- 
efit of the community, <lesiring its material, so- 
cial, intellectual and moral upliuilding, and 
his progressive citizenship makes him a valued 
factor in community afi'airs. 



S. L. FRISBIE. 



S. L. Frisbie, editor and jsroprietor of the 
Sloan Star, was born in Hardin county, Iowa, 
on the nth of Septeml)er, 1805. He was edu- 
cated in the jniblic schools and in a private 
academy and in early life learned the printer's 
trade. Throughriut his business career he has 
been connected with printing and in 1884: he 
established the Eldora Democrat. The follow- 
ing year he removed to Kansas and was there 
engaged in news])aper work until 1888, when he 
returned to Iowa. In August, 1892, he pur- 
chased the Sloan Star and lias since engaged in 
its publication, making it an enterprising jour- 
nal in keeiiing with modern and i^rogressive 
ideas conceriiiiig iu'ws])a]iers. In 1903 he was a 
Democratic uoniincc fur representative in the 
state legislature from Wondliury county and, 
although not elected, ho ran diic thousand votes 
ahead of his ticket, only tliirty-six votes being 
east against him in liis home towiisliip, ^vhich 
has a ne]iuli]icaii vote thr(>e times greater tlian 



224 



AST AX I) PHESEXT OF WOODBI'UY C'OFXTY 



that uf I lie Dciiiiii-fatic. This fact indicates his 
licrsoiuil popularil y among the people by whom 
he is best known and tlic vote which he ptdh'il 
was certainly a liiiili coniidinient to him. 

.Mr. Frishic was married Xovember 16,1887, 
to Miss Knima Uobison, of Sig'onrney, Iowa, 
and they have one cliiUl, Lloyd Frisbie, born 
Alav 31, 1S8'J. 



(TIArvLKS E. HEDGES. 

The history of Charles E. Hedges, deceased, 
forms a part of the annals of Sioux City. He 
was born in Switzerland connty, Indiana, June 
21, 1834, and in 1856 removed with his parents 
and their family to Keokuk, Iowa. About a 
month later, however, the father and his son 
Charles came to Sioux City and after due ex- 
amination they agreed that this locality afford- 
ed excellent business opportunities. In the 
succeeding April Charles E. Hedges was joined 
liy his brother, J). T. Hedges, and they opened 
a real estate ofhce. In the fall of 1857 Charles 
E. Hedges entered into partnership relations 
with J. W. Bosler as proprietor of a private 
bank. In the meantime he had demonstrated 
his business ability and marked enterprise and 
in that year he was elected county treasurer and 
recorder, which jiositions he filled for four 
years. Charles Hedges received the appoint- 
ment to the position of trader at the Yanklon 
Indian Agency in 1861 and served in that ca- 
pacity for six years, living there most of the 
time. He was also sutler at Eort Randall dur- 
ing a part of the year 1866. In 1868, however, 
he made a permanent location in Sioux City 
and for many years thereafter he and his broth- 
er were partners in all their business transac- 
tions. They were connected with many enter- 
prises of an imjiortant character and their la- 
bors proved of value in the upbuilding and 
progress of this ])orfion of the state. They 
took a contract for carrying the mail from 
Sioux Citv to Fort Sullv and to Jackson, ilis- 



sissippi. They also took contracts for furnish- 
ing Indian and military supplies to the gov- 
i-rnmrnt and dealt in cattle, ranches, city and 
country property and grain. They operated 
(piifc extensively in real estate and their labors 
pro\-cd effective in securing settlements in north- 
\vrstci-n Iowa. Tliey became proprietors of a 
grisimill and grain elevator and took large con- 
tracts of \'arious kinds connecting them with 
many business industries. The year prior to 
his <k'ath Air. Hedges did the grading of thirty- 
six miles of the Covington, Columbus & Black 
Hills Railroad. He also erected the new court- 
house for Woodbury county. At different times 
their business amounted to as much as three- 
fourths of a million dollars annually. They 
were qtiick to recognize and improve business 
o]>portunities, to utilize the means at haml and 
to work their way upward and they gradually 
ju'ospered in their undertakings. 

Air. Hedges was twice married, his first wife 
being Aliss Alary L. Krutz, who died in July, 
1870. In January, 1873, lie was united in 
marriage to Aliss Emma Quintrell, of Cleve- 
land, Ohio, who came to Sioux City as a teacher 
in the i)nblic schools, and in 1873 she gave her 
hand in marriage to Air. Hedges. Since his 
death she has married Thomas J. Stone, also 
now deceased, and his widow resides in Sioux 
City, wiiere she has a well earned reputation 
of iieing a very lovable woman, charitable and 
generous and jiossessing a strong mitid and lit- 
erary tastes. 

Perhaps no better estimate of the life and 
character of Air. Hedges can be given than to 
copy freely from an obituary published concern- 
ing him in one of the local papers. It said: 
■•The city c<iuncil met in special session last 
evening for the ]utrpose of taking appropriate 
official action in regard to the loss the munici- 
pal government and community have sustained, 
at which the following resohitions were adopt- 
ed : 

'■ 'Whereas: By the dispensation of an all- 
wise Providence our townsman and fellow coun- 




^^^J^^/^ 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODBURY COFXTY 



cihiiaii, Charles E. Hedges, has been taken from 
us, and 

" ■^yhereas : The unwelcome tidings of his 
sad and untimely death have fallen with great 
force upon the city and community, and 

'■ 'Whereas : We as the city council of Sioux 
City wishing to express our respect and appre- 
ciation of liis many good and noble qualities 
as a citizen and officer; therefore, be it 

'■ 'Resolved, That the city government in 
the death of Charles E. Hedges sustains a loss 
that nothing but the same energy, judgment and 
decision of character will ever rei^laee; and, 

■• "Eesolved, That in his death Sioux City 
lias lost one of her best and ablest of men, and 
one whose energy and ability has given in a 
great measure life and vitality to our young 
city ; and 

■■ Ticsolved, That we as a city council re- 
quest that as a mark of respect all places of 
Inisiness be closed for two hours during the 
funeral service; and 

■■ "Resolved, That as a mark of respect from 
the eiry council the council chamber be draped 
in mourning fiir a jseriod of thirty days ; and 

■■ 'Resolved. That we tender to his bereaved 
wife, brothers and friends, our tenderest sym- 
jnithies in this their great sorrow: and 

■■ "Resolved. That these resolutions be 
s])read ujwn the minutes of this body and a 
copy of the same be furnished his stricken wife ; 
also that they be published in the Sioux City 
Daily Journal and the Weekly Tribune.' " 

The paper continued: "The death of ^Ir. 
Hedges is regarded by the people of this, his 
adopted city, as a public calamity and well 
may it l)e. Dame nature rarely grants to one 
community more than one such man and by 
his death their exists in the commercial ranks 
of Sioux City a vacancy which no other man 
can fill. With a body of a Hercules and the 
courage of a lion, he had that great force of 
character which made for him a fortune and 
a name. He has done much for the commun- 
ity in the way of pulilic advancement, perhaps 



more than any other man. Like all men of 
tremendoits mental force he had his enemies. 
The selfish and the envious ones, lagging behind 
him in the race for fortune, envied him, who 
was so much their superior, but those who knew 
his warm and generous nattire best loved him 
best. He tilled a large niche not alone in 
Sioux City, but in the northwest as well. One 
of the pioneers of Sioux City, by his varied 
and extensive business interest, his intimate 
relationship with the growth and development 
of the northwest and his thorough identification 
with all public enterprises destined for the ben- 
efit not only of the city but of the entire sec- 
tion of the county, he was probably as well, 
if not better, kuo^vn than any other nuin in it. 
A man of wonderful energy, of indomitalde 
pluck, supplemented by a will which would 
brook no interference and a physiqtie that 
ne\'er seemed to know fatigue, he appeared to 
find his most pleasure in work, hard unceas- 
ing work, and in the companionship of his fam- 
ily. In this community to which he so often 
infused some of his sturdy vitality and energy, 
his loss will be most deeply felt, but the sor- 
row of the general public who have knoAm him 
best as a stirring business man whose influ- 
ence they can ill afford to lose seems a cold 
and selfish grief beside that which is rending 
the hearts of those who loved and li\-ed in the 
sacred hidden portals of a life of which the 
outside world knew so little." 

The funeral, conducted by the Masonic lodge, 
of which he was a member, was the largest ever 
kno-s\m in northwestern Iowa, and the arrange- 
ments for it the most complete. It is proLr 
able that as many as twenty-five hundred were 
present and there A\"as everywhere visible a spirit 
which showed sorrow that has filled the com- 
munity ever since its loss was known, and the 
different Masonic ceremonies and the addresses, 
the interment by the Masons and the somber 
decorations, all were in keeping with the occa- 
sion. It was a fitting tribute to the memory 
of a man whose place can never bo fille<l. Mr. 



•^'•.'S 



AST AND I'HESKNT OF WOODBll.'V CorXTY 



ile.lgv.s was iiatni-iilly of a ImiuWc and modest 
disposition, never pretending to perfection, 
never claiming for himself any superiority and 
never boasting of his own achievements. If a 
foe he was a manly one, if a friend he was a 
constant and generons one. His heart was ten- 
der, his sympathies were warm and easily 
aroused and many a one can bear witness that 
Mr. Hedges had shown his sympathy by gen- 
erons aid. He was ever constant in his at- 
tendance upon public worship. He often and 
freely expressed to those who had access to liis 
inner life his fiill belief in the holy scripture 
as the wwd of God. He never nuule known 
what is commonly called the public profession 
of religion, but he exemi)litied the spirit of 
Christianity in his life. He was also public- 
spirited and possessed a will which nothing 
could swerve from a purpose once determined 
upon. Ada])ted for large enterprises and en- 
d(iwed with a ciuick and discerning judgment, 
he made his mark upon the community and left 
the impress of his strong character ujion all 
around him. Foremost in every movement 
looking to the advancement of public interest 
and with encouragement and capital to push 
forward public enterprises, he left the impress 
of his individuality for good upon the devel- 
opment and upbuilding of Sioux City and his 
name became inseparably interwoven with its 
annals. Some of the hapjiiest moments of his 
life were those when, on a Sabbath afternoon, 
sin-rounded by his four grandchildren, he told 
them many interesting stories of the events 
which happened in the early history of Sioux 
Citv when it was still but a frontier town. 



.JOHN ('. PEARSON. 



:.Muiiicipal interests of Pierson are managed 
by the gentleman whose name introduces this 
review, for by popular suffrage he was called to 
the office of mayor. He has lived here since 
February, 1892, and has throughout this period 



worked diligently f,ir the welfare- of the com- 
munity, his etl'orts being a resultant factor in 
the jn-omotion of public advancement and sub- 
stantial improvement. 

Mr. Pearson is a native of England, his birth 
having occurred in Westmoreland on the 19th 
of July, 1862. He acquired a good education 
in the' schools of his native land and came to 
America when twenty years of age, a young 
man of determination, hopeful and energetic. 
He believed that better Inisiness opportunities 
might be enjoyed in this country and accord- 
inalv he sailed for the new world, making his 
way" at once to Lemars, Iowa. There he was 
connected with the grain trade for several years 
and in connection with his cousin, James James, 
now of Kingsley, Iowa, he purchased land and 
engaged in the operation of their farm of six 
hundred acres for about seven years. Mr. Pear- 
son of this review then sold out and came to the 
town of Pierson, where he established a lumber- 
yard, carrying on that business for tive years 
or until 1S9T, during which time he built up a 
good trade that yielded him a desirable lu-otit. 
On the expiration of that period he sold Ms 
lumber and turned his attention to the gram 
business. He is widely recognized as a wide- 
awake, practical and progressive grain dealer 
of Pierson and this part of the county for, 
brooking no obstacles that could be overcome, by 
honorable and persistent effort he has steadily 
worked his way upward and has risen from a 
humble position to one of atHuence. He now 
ships large quantities of wheat, corn, oats and 
barlev each vear and he also handles coal, ilour 
and feed. He and a half brother, William 11 ay- 
ton, are partners in the ownership and conduct 
of an elevator at Anthon and a third eh'vator 
at Stewart. 

Air. Pearson was married September f,. IS'.IH, 
to :Miss Lola Clark, a native of Iowa au.l a 
daua-hter of T. J. ( 'lark, one of the early settlers 
and""promineiit raiiebmeii ..f Wo,„lbury county. 
Airs. Pearson was educated in the juiblic schools 
of Iowa, successfully engaged in teaching for 




:\IK. WD ML'S. JOHX C. PEAJiSON. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



331 



a nimiber of years, was principal of the scliool 
of Moville and later of Pierson, occupying the 
latter position for four years. Unto Mr. and 
Mrs. Pearson has been born a daughter, ]\Iarion. 
They lost their first born, Lola Agnes, who died 
at the age of eight months. Mr. Pearson was 
reared in the faith of the Episcopal church, of 
which he is a member, and his wife is a member 
of the Congregational chiirch. His study of the 
political issues and questions of the day has led 
to firm faith in the Republican party and he 
never fails to vote its ticket. He was elected 
and served as recorder for one term and has 
been school treasurer for two terms. He is now 
serving as mayor of Pierson, having been four 
times elected to that office — first for one year, 
and since then for terms of two years each. He 
is a member of the Masonic fraternity and he 
and his wife are connected with the Order of 
the Eastern Star, while he is likewise identified 
with the Modern Woodmen of America. He has 
a wide acquaintance in Sioux City and through- 
out Woodbury county and is known as a public- 
spirited citizen and progressive business man, 
faultless in honor, fearless in conduct, and well 
meriting the respect which is so uniformly given 
him. 



O. PLATO. 



O. Plato is now living a retired life at x\.u- 
thou, but for a number of years was one of the 
substantial and progressive farmers of Kedron 
township. He is also entitled to representa- 
tion in this volume from the fact that he is one 
of the early settlers of the county, dating his 
residence here from 1856, while since 1844 
he has made his home in the state. His mind, 
therefore, bears the impress of the historic an- 
nals of Iowa and what to many people are 
I matters of history in Woodbury country are to 
! him affairs of personal knowledge and experi- 
I ence. Mr. Plato is a native of N'ew York, his 
birth having occurred in Chautauqua county, 



January 8, 1834. He is a son of Walton 
Plato, one of the early settlers of Cliautauqua 
county, who was a mechanic, possessing much 
natural ability in that direction. He followed 
the cabinet-making trade and also the trade of 
a carpenter and joiner. Kemoving westward 
to Illinois he died there about two years later. 
His wife survived him and reared her children 
in Illinois and in Iowa, removing to the latter 
state about 1844, at which time she took up 
lier al:>i>de in Jackson county. 

It was there that Mr. Plato of this review re- 
mained until sixteen years of age, when he 
went to Dubuque. He had attended the com- 
mon schools and also pursued an academic 
course previous to this time, and in Dulnupie 
he entered the law office of Piatt Smith, where 
he read law for five years. He then returned 
to Jackson county and was engaged in the 
practice of his profession for a few years or 
until after 1856, when he came to Woodbury 
county and purchased land, becoming the own- 
er of a tract in Miller township. There he 
carried on general farming for a few years. 
He afterward removed to Kedron township, 
settling on the Sioux bottoms, where he opened 
up a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, 
developing a most valuable property, on which 
he remained for thirty-five years. The rich 
alluvial soil was made to produce excellent 
crops and continued cultivation and improve- 
ment rcsiilted in the development of a splendid 
property. In 1892 he rented his farm and lo- 
cated at his present home adjoining Anthon. 
He also improved a farm of two hundred and 
forty acres on the river and in connection with 
the cultivation of the fields he was engaged 
in raising and feeding stock, winning very de- 
sirable success in that work. He had no capi- 
tal when he came to Woodbury county, but 
through his persistent efforts and capable man- 
agement he accumulated a handsome compe- 
tence, becoming the owner of two large and 
valualile farms and also some residence prop- 
erty in Anthon. He was one of the first law- 



232 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WUODBUl!Y COUNTY 



ycrs of the cuviuty and practiced in the courts 
here for thirty years. 

On the :20th of September, 1857, in Sioux 
City, Mv. Phato was united in marriage to Miss 
Hepsy Livermore, a native of Ohio, who was 
brought to Iowa during lier infancy and was 
reared iu Jackson county. Thej' were the fii'st 
couple married in Sioux City, the wedding 
ceremony being performed by Esquire John H. 
Charles. They beeanir the ])arents of five chil- 
dren, of whom three are li\'iug': Charles A., 
M'ho resides iu Anthdu, is a stockdealer and 
shipper. He is married and has five children : 
Nettie, Ocil, Bert, Hepsy and Raymond. C. 
H. Plato, the second son, is engaged iu the 
grain business. He is married and has three 
childi'en: Edna, Marcus and Sadie. H. P. 
Plato, the youngest, is residing upon a ranch 
in Idaho and his children are John, Osman, 
Netta, Lester, Alta, Winnifred, Ada and Fred. 

In his political allegiance ilr. Plato has al- 
ways been an unfaltering Democrat, but the 
honors and emnlnments of office have had little 
attraction for him. He was, however, deputy 
county surveyor for a number of years and 
was engaged in surveying here and also did 
government surveying in Wisconsin before com- 
ing to Woodbury (dunty. He likewise did 
work along that line in Xeliraska. He is to- 
day one of the honored |ii(]n('er settlers of Wood- 
bury county. In the early days of his resi- 
dence here he knew every man for miles around 
and he is one of tjie few remaining pioneer 
lawyers of iiorthwestern Iowa. He has seen 
this portion of the state transformed from a 
wilderness and swanqi into a well developed 
district, which is the home of a contented, hap- 
py and prosperous peojde, and he has borne hia 
full share in the work of im]irovement. Hq 
can relate many interesting incidents of ]>io- 
neer life here and he is nuudiered among those 
who bravely faced the bardshijis and trials 
which fall to the lot of the frontier settler. 
He had no capital wlicn be arrived here, but 
through his untiring cinTgy, capable nuinage- 



ment and well directed eiforts he has won for 
himself a place among the substantial r-esidcnts 
of \\'oodbnry coimty and his life history forms 
no uium])ortant chapter in the annals of this 
purl ion of the state. 



CHARLES E. WOOLRIDGE. 

Charles E. Woolridge, who is a ])ractical me- 
chanic and for a number of years lias been en- 
gaged in contracting and building in Correc- 
tionville and in Woodbiiry and adjoiuing coun- 
ties, is a western man by birth, by training and 
by preference, and the sjiirit of enterprise which 
iias led to ra])id and substantial growth in this 
part of the county has also been manifest in 
his business career, which has l)een cliaracter- 
ized by steady ^progression and accomplishment. 
^Ir. Woolridge is a native of ISTebraska, his 
birth having occurred on a farm near the pres- 
ent town of Beatrice, December 10, 18(i3. He 
dates his residence in Iowa from 1881. His 
father, Edward E. Woolridge, is a native of 
England and when a young man emigrated to 
the United States in 1832. He located first in 
Lake county, Illinois, and he, too, possessing 
mechanical ability, bad learned the carpenter's 
and joiner's trade and put his knowledge to 
the ])ractical test as a contractor and builder, 
liciiig thus engaged for a number of years. He 
was marrie(l in Illinois to [Miss Delilah Haw- 
thorne, a Scotch lady, and on leaving that state 
he removed to Xebraska, where he resided for 
a nnndier of years. After the Chicago fire of 
1^71 lii. returned to Illinois and settled in the 
burned city, where he worked at his trade for 
a number of years and there reare(l his family. 
At a later date he took up his abode iu Oregon 
and is now li\-ing near the city of Portland, 
that state. In his family were three sons, the 
eldest of whom is E. C. Woolridge, who is 
with liis ])arents in Oregon. The youngest son, 
J. II. Woolridne, is a contractor and builder and 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



233 



resides in Correctionville with his wife and 
chiklren. 

Charles £. Woolridge, the second son, was 
reared in Cliieago, attended the public schools 
there and afterward continued his education at 
Dundee and at Elgin, Illinois. Under his fa- 
ther's direction he learned the carpenter's and 
joiner's trade and for several years was iden- 
titic'd witli the building oi^eratious in Chicago, 
Inn the west with its opi^ortunities attracted 
him and in 1881 he came to Woodbury county, 
Iowa. Since that time he has been actively 
and successfully engaged in cdntvaeting and 
building. In Correctionville he has erected 
public buildings, business houses and a great 
nundjer of residences, and throughout the sur- 
rounding country there are many evidences of 
his handiwork in substantial dwellings, barns 
and other farm buildings. He is skillful and 
capable in the line of his trade and his own 
practical knowledge enables him to direct in 
excellent manner the labors of those whom he 
employs, so that good results are obtained. Mr. 
Woolridge aided in organizing the Correction- 
ville Pressed Brick Comjjany, of which he is 
a stockholder. This company was formed in 
1002 and now has two kilns completed and 
ready for acti^'e work in the season of lOO-t. 
The plant. is operated under the direct man- 
agement of Mr. Woolridge, who gives almost 
his entire time to the manufacture of brick 
and to the btisiness of the company. 

In Ida county, Iowa, in the fall of 1888, Mr. 
Woolridge was united in marriage to Miss Car- 
rie E. Rhodes, a native of this state, born near 
Grinnell. She is a daughter of S. L. Rhodes, 
a native of Pennsylvania, and now a resident 
of Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Woolridge have 
five children : Lillie, Delilah, Lewis, Clarence 
and Gladys. They also lost two children, Alice 
M. and Edith, who died in infancy. 

Socially Mr. Woolridge is connected with 
the Knights of Pythias frateniity and politi- 
cally he is a zealous and earnest Republican 
who endorses the principles of the party as 



embodied in its 2)latform, yet is not active in 
political circles, preferring to direct his atten- 
tion into biisiuess channels. He has been a 
resident of Woodbury county for over twenty 
years and has aided nuiterially in its upbuild- 
ing and iin])rovement. He is esj)ecially well 
known through the eastern and northern part 
of the country, where he has the confidence of 
the peoj)le, gained throiigh his genuine per- 
sonal worth and business intearitv. 



GUSTAVE PECAUT. 

Gustave Pecaut, now deceased, was among 
the adojjted sons of Iowa who settled in Sioux 
City in pioneer days and he came hei'e when 
this was a mere village on the frontier, when 
tile Indians were still numerous in this part 
of the county, when much of the land was yet 
in its j)rimitive condition and when the homes 
of the settlers were very widely scattered. As 
the years passed he carried on his business in- 
terests in a manner that brought to him success 
and in his later 3'ears he was enabled to en- 
joy a well earned rest from labor. 

Mr. Pecaiit was born in Switzerland on the 
19th of February, 1826, and when only four 
years of age he lost his mother. He was edu- 
cated in France and came to the United States 
with his father in 1845 and located in New 
York city. There he worked for his lu'other 
in a carriage shoj) and afterward accepted a 
position as traveling salesman with the Amer- 
ican Fur Company, which he thiis represented 
for five years. On the expiration of that period 
he came to Sioux City, Iowa, in 1854, and in 
Woodbury county he turned his attention to 
farming. Later he removed to Nebraska and 
laid out what became the town of Covington. 
There he sold lots and aided materially in the 
development of the new municipality. He was 
also engaged in the hotel business at Covington 
and there continued to reside until 18Y4, when 
he returned to Sioux City. Here he began 
doaliuii' in real estate and for manv years 



2:i4 



PAST AXD rEESP]NT OF WOODBT'RY COVXTY 



liaudled considerable pro^ierty here, always 
keeping well informed concerning realty valnes 
and securing a liberal i)atronage by reason of 
his i)rogressive and honorable business methods. 
At length, in 1889, he retired from active busi- 
ness life and his remaining days were spent in 
the quiet enjoyment of the fruits of his former 
toil. 

On the 10th of Feiiruary, IS.")'.!, Mr. Pecaut 
was united in marriage to [Miss Christina Held, 
a daughter of Erhardt and ( 'harlotte Held. 
Mrs. Pecaut was born January S, 1837, and 
by her marriage she became the mother of nine 
children: Edward William, who is now dep- 
uty sheriff of Woodbury county ; Charles F., a 
dealer in cigars; Henry L., who is assistant 
chief of the fire department at Sioux City; 
Philip P., who is engaged in business as a 
barber; Gustave A., who is living in this city; 
John C, salesman ; Teeny A., the wife of Ern- 
est Keith, who is bookkee])er in the wholesale 
hardware house of Knapj) Spencer at Sioux 
City ; Albert P., a l)arber ; and George, at home. 
Mrs. Pecaut is a member of the Presbyterian 
church. On the 29 th of December, 1900, Mr. 
Pecaut passed away and thus Sioux City lost 
one of its pioneer residents, one who had inti- 
mate knowledge of the early progress and de- 
velopment of this part of the state as well as 
of its later im])rovement and advancement. He 
never sought to figure in any public light, but 
was content to do his duty as a private citizen 
and business man and he made for himself an 
honorable name in that wav. 



THOMAS GEORGE HEXDEPSOX. 

Thomas George Henderson, a resident of 
Sioux City since 1877, and a member of the 
bar whose legal learning and capability in ac- 
tive practice are attested by the large and im- 
portant clientage accorded him, was born in 
Janesville, Wisconsin, on the 26th of Novem- 
ber, 1S."')2. He is a son of James and .Joan 



Henderson, b(jth natives of Scotland, and the 
latter was a descendant of Sir Robert Pruce. 
The father entered iipon his business career in 
Peterhead, Aberdeenshii-e, Scotland, as a har- 
nessmaker, and after his marriage emigrated to 
America in 1849, establishing his home in 
Janesville, Wisconsin, where he conducted a 
harness-making business until 185-1. In 18.30 
he took the first premium at the State Fair of 
Wisconsin on a manufactured Scotch collar. 
Removing to northeastern Iowa in IS.")! he 
owned lands and engaged in farming in Clay- 
ton county for a number of years, and in 1870 
went to Cherokee county, low^a, where he also 
conducted farming interests. His ability lead- 
ing to his selection for public office, he served 
as county treasurer of Cherokee county and in 
other local positions, giving evidence of his pub- 
lic-spirited and loyal citizenship by his faith- 
fid jierfiirmance of evei-y duty which devolved 
u])on him. He died in May, 1891, and his 
wife, surviving him for more than a decade, 
passed away in September, 1902. 

Thomas G. Henderson was about two years 
old when brought to Iowa. Indebted to the 
jjublic school system of the state for the early 
educational privileges he enjoyed, he later at- 
tended college at Algona, Iowa, for one year, 
and afterward S23ent three years in the State 
University, at Iowa City, biit sustaining an 
injury he was forced to remain home for a 
year, and in consequence abandoned his idea of 
graduating. He continued in the imiversity 
until Jime, 1876, and pursiied the regular clas- 
sical coiu-se. iN'aturally a mathematician. Pro- 
fessor Philbrook of the civil engineering de- 
partment of the university, tried to prevail 
u])on liim to take that course, but his ambitions 
were in another direction. 

After leaving the university Mr. Henderson, 
in the fall of 1877, entered upon the study of 
law in the office and under the direction of the 
firm of Joy & Wright, of Sioux City, and was 
admitted to practice September 26, 1879. 
Sinc(i locating in this city in September, 1877. 




T. G. HEXDEESON. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



237 



he has continuoiisly made it his home and has 
engaged iiiiinterruptedly in the practice of law 
since his admission to the bar, his earnest labor 
and thorough prejjaration winning for him an 
enviable jiosition at tlie bar, wliidi be has al- 
ways retained. 

On the ISth of August, 18!U, at Lisbon, 
Iowa, ilr. Henderson was united in marriage 
to Miss Cora E. Spadt, whose parents were res- 
idents of Lisbon, to which city they had re- 
moved from Columbus, Ohio. Her fatlier's 
ancestors fought in the war for independence 
and Mrs. Henderson is now connected with 
the Daughters of the American Revolution. 
She also belongs to the Episcopalian church. 
Mr. Henderson was reared in the Baptist 
chiirch, but is not a believer in creeds, biit sym- 
pathizes in all efforts to make the world better 
and his inffuence is ever on the side of right, 
triith and jjrogress. He is at all times a stal- 
wart Republican and was chairman of the Re- 
publican central committee of Woodbury coun- 
ty, in the Blaine campaign. For twenty years 
he served as United States commissioner. He 
belongs to no secret organizations save the An- 
cient Order of United Workmen, but liecame a 
member of the Hawkeye f'luli on its formation 
twenty years ago and is also a member of the 
Sioux City Boat Club. Establishing his liome 
in Sioiix City in early manhood, he has in his 
professional career and jirivate life disjilayed 
those traits of character which make for good 
citizenship and honor in every relation with 
his fellowmen. 



C. D. CLARK. 



C. D. Clark, wlio for nearly twenty years 
followed farming in Kedron townsliip, and is 
now living a retired life in Anthon, has re- 
sided in Woodbury county since 1873. He is 
a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having oc- 
curred in Carbondale, Luzerne county, on the 
10th of Decemlier, 1848. His father, Arnold 
Clark, was liorii in Rliode Island in ISO.") and 



was reared to manhood there. In his native 
state he nuirried Elizabetli Lydia Potter, who 
was born near Providence, Rhode Island, in 
IS 17. Mr. Chirk was a farmer by occujiation 
and removed from Xew England to Luzerne 
county, Pennsylvania, where he cleared the land 
and develoi^ed good farms. In 185G, however, 
he sought a home in the Mississippi valley, set- 
tling in Iowa county, Wisennsin, where he 
opened up a new farm. There he resided for 
some time and reared his family in that local- 
ity. Later he came to Iowa, where he joined 
his children about 1886 and here he spent his 
last years, passing away about 1900. His wife 
survived him for about four years. In tiie 
family Avere three children, a son and two 
daughters. 

C. D. Clark, whose name intr()duces this re- 
view, spent his Ixiyliood days on the old home 
farm in Wisconsin and attended the common 
schools through the winter months, while in 
the summer seasons he aided in the work of the 
tields. He came to Iowa in 1873, settling in 
Kedron townsliip, Woodbury county, where lie 
])urchased eighty acres of good land. Xot a 
furrow had been turned or an improvement 
made ujion the tract, which he placed under 
the plow, transforming it into richly cultivated 
tields. Later he bought more land, becoming 
the owner of aliout four hundred acres in con- 
nection with W. L. Clark. In this way he 
owned nearly two sections of land. Mr. Clark 
made good and substantial improvements upon 
his farm, raising and feeding stock and also 
cultivating the various cereals which are most 
productive in this part of the country. He 
lived ujion liis home place for about twenty 
years, then rented the farm and purchasing a 
lot in Anthon erected thereon a good home and 
lias since lived retired. Success has attended 
his efforts and industry has been the key that 
has unlocked to him the portals of prosperity. 
He began life with no capital and without the 
assistance of influential friends, but strong pur- 
]iose and diligence have contributed to his finan- 



238 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WUODBUKY COUNTY 



cial growth and lie is now one of the substantial 
men of the county. 

Mr. Clark was married in Woodbury county 
on the 1st of January, 1880, to ^liss Cora 
Hunt, a native of Illinois, born in ilcHenry 
county. Her father, Mansfield Hunt, became 
(jue of the pioneer settlers of Woodbury county 
and Mrs. Clark was reared here and was a 
successful teacher prior to her marriage. They 
became the parents of four children, but they 
lost their first born, Frank Arthiir, who died 
at the age of thirteen years. Gertrude Maude, 
who is the wife of Gilbert Maddison and has 
one child, Cora Anna ; Sylvia Lydia ; and Viva 
Farres. In 1900 Mr. Clark was called upon 
to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 
17th of December, of that year, to the deep 
regret of many friends as well as her immediate 
family. 

Politically Mr. Clark has been a life-long 
Democrat and has served as assessor and com- 
missioner of highways. He was on the town- 
ship board and was also assessor of the town 
for three years. He is a member of the ila- 
sonic fraternity, belonging to the blue lodge, 
and chapter, and in Cornelius Lodge, 'No. 550, 
A. F. & A. M., he has filled all of the chairs. 
He was also connected at one time with the Odd 
Fellows. He has been a resident of Woodlmry 
county for thirty-four years, has witnessed 
much of its growth and development and has 
helped to improve it and make it what it is 
to-day. His success in life may be attributed 
to his indefatigable energy and to the close and 
assiduous attention he has paid to the minute 
portions of his afPairs. 



OSCAR A. hoff:\iaxx. 

Oscar A. Hofinianu, editor of the Volks- 
freund at Sioux ('ity, Iowa, was born in Ger- 
many in 1858 and in his early boyhood days 
was left an orphan. He began his education in 
the public schools and was also instructed ])ri- 



vateiy liy liis uncle, who was a minister. He 
afterward attended the Progymuasium in Weis- 
senfels and from there went to the gymnasium 
at Halle, an institution about three hundred 
years old, in which are seen about four thou- 
sand students each year. Xine years of study 
are required to complete the course there. After 
his graduation ilr. Hofi'mann entered the Uni- 
versity at Leipsic, ■\\here he became a law stu- 
dent and later entered the University of Halle. 
He studied higher mathematics, physics and the 
science of nature, branches which he found es- 
]>ecially to his liking. He also joined an aca- 
ilemical society of science, of which he is yet a 
uiendier. Later he attended the Prussian Uni- 
versity at .Marburg and left that institution 
with the first degree on his state examination. 
When he had completed his studies he accepted 
a ]iosition in the Royal College but found that 
it would take too long to acquire a profitable 
position through the ordinary avenues of pro- 
motion there. In his lioyhood he had read much 
of the resources and richness of the United 
States and he also heard favorable reports from 
his uncle, who had come to this country with a 
capital of eight thousand dollars and is now 
a wealthy resident of Texas. Mr. Hoffmann 
had devoted twenty years of his life to study 
and after acquiring his education he had left 
about fifteen thousand marks of his patrimony. 
With this cajiital he decided to come to the new 
world and in 1885 he crossed the Atlantic and 
through the influence of some relatives located 
in Sioux City, Iowa. Here he invested his 
money in real estate and built a residence on 
East Third street. 

Mr. Hoffmann found that he was mistaken 
in his idea concerning the acquirement of 
wealth at the expense of little labor, but he 
has found as the years have passed that success 
may lie gained through persistent and deter- 
mined effort. He was a teacher of gymnastics 
in Turner Llall here for a time and in 1886 he 
turned his attention to the newspaper business, 
purchasing the Volksfreund of A. Hermann 




0. A. HOFFJIANN. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



241 



and Dr. G. Pirascli. Tliis paper was fonuded 
bv ('liarles Ali'xander. It is a German weekly 
and now has a large and prolitable circnlation. 
Mr. Hoffmann Avas managing editor of the 
Conricr before liecoming jjroprictor of the 
Volksfrennd, of which he has since remained 
in charge, and he now publishes a journal which 
is a very welcome addition to the product of 
flie press in many of the German households of 
Iowa, Xebraska and South Dakota. He is now 
a member (Alter Herr) of the Academical 
ifathematical Society of the University of 
Halle. As ^Ir. Ilnffniann has prospered he has 
made judicious investment in real estate and 
n<iw owns considerable valuable property on the 
west side which returns to him a good income. 
He has found that in this country labor is the 
fotuidation of all success and through his enter- 
prise and capable management he is noAV one of 
the sulistantial residents of Sioux Titv. 



WILBKKT P.. POOIIKK. 

Wilbert JJ. iJdolu-r, president of tjie Dan- 
bury State Bank and a prominent business 
man, is one whose worth and ability have 
gained him success, honor and jmblic confi- 
dence. He enjoys the well earned distinction 
of being what the jJublic calls a self-made man 
and an analyzation of his character reveals the 
fact that enterju-ise, well directed effort and 
iionorable dealing have been the essential fea- 
tures in his prosperity. 

Mr. Booher was l)orn in Huntingdon county, 
Pennsylvania, January Ul, ISSl, and is a son 
of Samuel and Elizabeth (Snyder) Booher, who 
were of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. The 
father was also a native of the Keystone state 
and was a son of Samuel and Hannah Booher, 
the tV)rnier of whom died when our subject was 
quite young. The grandmother survived her 
luisliand for some years and died in ISil.") at 
an a<lvanced age. Our snl)ject"s father, who 



was a farmer by occupation, made his home 
near Orbisonia, Huntingdon county, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he jiassed away in 1864, at the 
age of forty-tive yi'ars. The following year 
the mother brought her family to this state 
and purchased a small piece of land near Iowa 
City. She was left with seven small children 
to sui)port, the oldest being our subject, who 
was only ten years old at the time of his fath- 
er's death. The others were: E. B., born in 
lSr)0: A. B., born in 1S.5S : J. B., born in 
ISfiO; S. J., born in 1S62 ; E., born in lSr,3 ; 
and S. C, born in 1864. All are still living. 
Mr. Booher's early educational privileges 
were very meager and his advantages in other 
directions were also limited. At an early age 
he began working on a farm and afterward 
learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed 
until his removal to Danbury in 1882. Here 
he was first engaged in the implement business 
for a short time, in partnership with a ^Ir. 
Cleans under the firm name of Cleans 6: Booher, 
being connected with that gentleman during 
the winter of ISSi'-:!, but in the sjiring he sold 
out to his partner and purchased the furniture 
business of Sanmel Griffith. Three years later 
he added hardware to his stock and continued 
to engage in that business with marked success 
until 1892, when he sold out to David Tomge- 
man but the store is now owned by Fitzpat- 
rick Brothers. In the fall of 1892 Mr. Booher 
embarked in the grain business, which he car- 
ried on until 1808 and then sold out to F. II. 
Hancock. Since the organization of the Dan- 
bury State Bank in 18S9 he has been one of 
its directors and since his election to the posi- 
tion of president in I'.MIO has devoted his entire 
time and attention to the conduct of the bank, 
which is one of the safest financial institutions 
of this section of the state. Its other officers 
are A. J. Santce, vice-i)resideut, and I. B. San- 
tee, cashier. These gentlemen, together with 
W. D. Gibson and -Tohn Crilly form the board 
of directors. The success of tlie Ivmk is largely 
dne to the nntirins efforts of our subject, who 



243 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



is recognized as a most capable business man 
and able financier. 

On the 15th of January, 1885, Mr. Boohcr 
married Miss Louise Erke, who was born in 
Germany in 1863 and in 1872 came to the 
United States with her parents, John and Mary 
Erke, the family locating in London, Cedar 
county, Iowa. She attended the public schools 
from the age of six to ten years but her advan- 
tages in that direction were limited. Mr. and 
Mrs. Boolier have two children: Edith, Ixirn 
in 1887; and Fay D., born October 26, 1901. 
Our subject is devoted to his home and family 
and does all in his power for their welfare 
and happiness. lie has a nice modern resi- 
dence in Danbury, erected at a cost of four 
thousand dollars and has other property in this 
county and an interest in lands in Minnesota. 

[Mr. Booher and his family are members of 
the Methodist church, although his wife was 
reared in the German Liitheran faith. Frater- 
nally he is a member of the Masonic lodge and 
the Order of the Eastern Star at Danbury and 
is now serving as treasurer of the former. 
Since attaining his majority he has affiliated 
with the Eepublican party but has never been 
a politician ii; the sense of oflice seeking, al- 
though he has been honored Avith the office of 
mayor and has served as a member of the 
town council for the last four years. In all 
of the relations of life he has been found true 
to every trust reposed in liini and he has the 
respect and confidence of those with whom he 
C(mies in contact in business, i)olitical or social 
life. 



CHARLES REIXKIXG. 

( liarles Eeinking, numbered among the Gei-- 

man-American citizens nf W Umry county 

and classed with tlic tiirifty agriculturists of 
Riuland t(.)wnslii]), is living on section 20. His 
attention is untiringly given to his farming 
operations, which cover the cultivation of one 



Inindred and sixty acres on the home farm and 
(ine hundred and eighty acres on section 18, 
Rntlanil township. 

Mr. Reinking was born in Hanover, Ger- 
many, December 15, 1845, and spent his boy- 
hood days on the home farm, while in the pub- 
lic schools he acquired his education. He 
was a young man of about twenty-two years 
wlien he bade adieu to friends and native coun- 
try and sailed for the United States as a pas- 
senger on a westward-bound vessel that left the 
jiort (if Ilremen and dropped anchor in the har- 
bor of Xew York. At once cdutinuing his 
journey into the interior of the (■duntry, lie 
first located in Du Page county, Illinois, where 
he worked as a farm hand for several years. 
He came to Iowa in 1870, settling in Clinton 
county, where he again worked on a farm by 
the month and afterward by the year. After 
his marriage he located in Boone county, Iowa, 
wiicre lie continued for two years, and then 
renuiveil to Ida county, where he became the 
owner of his first farm, jiurcliasing one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of raw land. To the de- 
velopment and imjirovement of this place he 
gave his attention until 1884, when he sold the 
])roperty and came to WoodVmry county. Here 
liy purchase he acquired a ipuirter section of 
nnliroken land, which he jilaccil under the plow 
and phmtcd to corn, wheat and other cereals. 
Ilr first linilt a little granary, in which he lived 
for two or three years, and afterward erected a 
neat siilistantial residence. In the rear of the 
house are good barns, corneribs, sheds and, in 
fact, all the equi]iments and accessories of a 
model farm of the twentieth century. Hifl 
fences are always kept in good repair and 
everything alioiu the place is neat and thrifty 
in a]i]>earance. He worked most earnestly and 
untiringly for a nundier of years and gaitied 
the success which always comes as the reward 
of persistent ert"ort. ^Vhen his financial re- 
sources made it jiossible he invested in one hun- 
dri'd anil eighty acres in the same township and 
is engaged in farming on both ]ilaces ami raises 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNT Y 



343 



good stock. He has a wiiidpump and feed 
mills and his farm is thoruuglily up-to-date in 
every jiarticular. 

In Crawford county, Iowa, on the IKtli of 
July, lS7y, Mr. Eeinking was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Lena Meyer, a native of Du Page 
county, Illinois, and a daughter of Fred ]\reyer, 
an early settler of that state from Hanover, 
Germany. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reinking have 
been born eight children: Louis, Charles, Ed, 
William, Minnie, Fritz, Emil and Clara. 
They also lost a daughter, Emma, who died at 
the age of sixteen years. 

Politically Mr. Reinking is a stanch Repub- 
lican. His first presidential ballot was cast 
for Grover Cleveland and his last for William 
McKinley, for in the meantime he had under- 
gone a change in political sentiment and now 
endorses the men and measures of the Grand 
Old Party. He and his wife were reared in 
the Lutheran church and dtiring their residence 
in Woodbury county they have made niany 
friends who entertain for them the warm re- 
gard which is ever given in acknowledgement of 
genuine personal worth. 



JOSEPH W. HALLAM. 

Josejih W. Hallam, who in the practice of 
law during twenty years' connection with the 
Iowa bar, has given evidence of the possesriion 
of those traits which constitute the strong at-' 
torney — the keen discernment, the analytical 
mind and the unflagging industry — is a native 
of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in Lin- 
den, Iowa county, on the 9th of November, 
185.J. His parents, Joseph and Mary (Wood) 
Hallam, were natives of England and the for- 
mer was a distant relative of Hallam, the his- 
torian. They came to America in the year 
1849, established their home in Wisconsin and 
for many years the father carried on farming 
there. His death, however, occurred in Min- 
neapolis, on the Ifith of July, 1898, but his 



wife passed away in Iowa county, Wisconsin, 
in April, 1885. They were the parents of the 
following children, of whom Joseph W. is the 
fourth in order of birth: Ann E., Alfred, 
John T., Joseph W., Louisa, William Henry 
and Oscar. One daughter, ilarj' Hallam, died 
in infancy, and John T., died in ^Minneapolis, 
in 1899, aged forty-six years. 

Joseph W. Hallam sjaent his boyhood days 
on the home farm and attended the district 
schools prior to entering the normal school at 
Platteville, Wisconsin, where he continued for 
a year. He then matriculated in the Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin, at Madison, in 1878, and was 
graduated on the completion of a literary course 
in 1882, while in 1883 he completed a law 
course, whereby he was prepared for admission 
to the bar. Choosing Sioux City as the scene 
of his professional labors, he has since con- 
tinued in practice here, covering a i:)eriod of 
twenty-two years, and the favorable judgment 
which the public passed upon him at the outset 
of his career has in no degree been set aside 
or modified, but on the contrary has been in- 
creased by his careful handling of important 
litigated interests. The confidence reposed in 
him is indicated by the fact that he has been 
continued in the ofiice of prosecuting attorney 
of Woodbury county, by popular suffrage, for 
six years, from 1895 until 1901, inclusive, and 
the duties of the office were most faithfully dis- 
charged. He showed no partiality, no fear nor 
favor, in the prosecution of any suit for the 
county, and his careful preparation of cases, his 
cogent reasoning and clear presentation of a 
cause won him many notable forensic triumphs. 

Mr. Hallam was married, August 17, 1883, 
in Portage City, Wisconsin, to Miss Julia K. 
Clai-k, and they have four children: Mai-gue- 
rite, Clark, Arthur and Kirkland. ]\[r. and 
Mrs. Hallam have a large circle of acquain- 
tances in Sioux City and enjoy the favorable 
regard of the great majority of those with 
whom they have come in contact. Mr. Hallam 
is a progressive and public-spirited citizen and 



244 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUHY COUNTY 



although he has not sought to figure before the 
public in any light outside of his profession, 
he has, as an attorney and in the jjublie oifice 
he has filled, won the admiration and respect 
of his fellow men by his abilitv and fidelity. 



EUWIX C. PETERS. 



Edwin C. Peters has been a promoter of 
business enterprises whose value to Sioux City 
is widely recognized. Morningside, which is 
Sioux City's most beautiful suburl), is largely 
a monument to his business cajiability and j)ro- 
gressive spirit. 

Mr. Peters was born u2)on a farm in Chester 
county, Pennsylvania, October 23, 1836, a son 
of Eobert P. and Eluiira (Gregg) Peters. He 
attended a district school and then a local acad- 
emy until fifteen years of age, when he entered 
the Pennsylvania Kormal School at Millers- 
ville, Pennsylvania, where he remained for two 
years. On the expiration of that jicriod he en- 
tered upon the study of law and was graduated 
from the I^ational Law School of Poughkeep- 
sie, ]*^ew York, when but twenty-one years of 
age. Ho then removed to Xiagara Falls and 
:ifter a year spent in the law office of A. P. 
Floyd, he engaged in the law and insurance 
business in partnership with H. X. Griffith, 
then district attorney. In 1861 he was ap- 
pointed by President Lincoln deputy United 
States marshal for the arrest and detention of 
persons of known notorious disloyalty, but after 
a few months Secretary of War Seward revoked 
the order for this special service and he was 
conunissioned deputy collector of customs at 
Niagara Falls and held the office until the 
spring of 1870, when he disposed of his busi- 
ness intei'ests, resigned his government position 
and came to Sioxix City, entering the banking 
house of Weare & Allison, taking a working 
interest in the insurance business. Thus he 
became identified with the business interests of 
the citv in which he has since so directed his 



efforts as to win a competence and at the same 
time contribute in substantial and tangible 
measure to public j)rogress and improvement. 

About a year and a half after his arrival 
Mr. Peters, in connection with George Mtirphy, 
purchased the insurance Ijranch of the business 
from the bank and in cduucctidu with the con- 
duct of the business enterprise, of which they 
thus became i^roprietors, they also established 
the first savings bank of the city, of which [Mr. 
Peters became vice-president. Two years later 
A. S. Garretson and his friends purchased a 
controlling interest in this institution and 
merged it into the Sioux National Hank. 

About this time ^Ir. Peters sustained an in- 
jury in the head which unfitted him for office 
Work for nearly four years. Recovering in 
1877 he went to the Black Hills, having been 
ai^ijointed the first treasurer of Pennington 
county, South Dakota, while later he was com- 
missioned i^robate judge of that county. The 
second year after coming to Sioux City he pur- 
chased a large tract of land about a mile and 
a half southeast of the city limits and with oth- 
ers who had come with him from Niagara Falls 
he started a settlement to which he gave the 
name of itorningside. Upon his return from 
the Black Hills in 1878 he again took up his 
abode at Morningside and has since devoted 
mtich of his time to furthering the interests of 
that beautiful suburb. In 1888 the Sioux City 
Rapid Transit Company was organized and a 
motor line built connecting Morningside with 
the city. Of this company Mr. Peters became 
president. In 1890-1 the company constructed 
a mile and a half of connecting elevated rail- 
road at a cost of four hundred thousand dollars, 
thus enaliling them to run their cars direct from 
^[orningside to the center of Sioux City. 
!Many business enterprises have profited by the 
counsel or material assistance of Jir. Peters, 
who is now one of the directors of the North- 
western National Bank of Sioux City. Upon 
the organization of the University of the North- 
west at ilorningside. now known as Morning- 






// C<i_ <>-%y 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



side C'ollege, he was made vice-president and 
cliairman of the executive committee. 

On the 17th of November, 1864, Mr. Peters 
was married to Miss Sarah P. Scott, a daughter 
of Benjamin R. and Lucy (Hill) Scott, natives 
of Horncastle, England. Mrs. Peters was born 
in New York city and is a cousin of Sir Gil- 
bert Scott, who designed the Prince Albert 
memorial monument. Ten children were born 
to Mr. and ]\rrs. Peters, but only three are 
now living: Merritt Chesbro, Pierre Hugo 
and Hope Scott. Lula White died in 1802. 

^fr. Peters' native force of eharaetei' has 
found expression in the steady and unremu- 
ting performance of the duties which business 
life has brought to him. He lias a large ca- 
pacity for work in addition to ability to'plan, 
and is ever systematic and accurate. Outside 
of his business he is devoted to his family and 
to the pursuits of a cultured life. 



HON. I. B. SANTEK. 



There are in e\-ery conmumity men of great 
force of character and exceptional ability who 
hy reason of their capacity for leadership be- 
come recognized as foremost citizens and be- 
come promiently identified with public affairs. 
Such a man is Hon. I. B. Santee, who has 
served as cashier of the Danbury State Bank for 
over fifteen years and has I'epresented his dis- 
trict in the state legislature. 

Mr. Santee was born on a farm in .Mononga- 
lia county. West Virginia, on tlie 7th of March, 
1852, his parents being A. J. and Lucy ( Siiri- 
ver) Santee, also natives of that eonntv, the 
former of French and the latter of German 
descent. The father continued to make his 
liome there until he came to Danburv, Iowa. 
On the 31st of January, 1889, he organized the 
Danbury State Bank, of which he is now vice- 
president. In early life he made farming his 
principal occupation and in liis business un- 
dertakings has met with most gratifyino- suc- 



247 
cess. He had three sons, but one is now de- 
ceased, those living being I. B., of this review; 
and S. H., who lives on the homestead farm two 
miles west of Danbury. 

L B. Santee began his education in the ])ub- 
hc schools of West Virginia and later attended 
the University of West Virginia at Morgan- 
town and the Iron City Business College at 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was gradu- 
ated in 1872. Leaving his native state in that 
year he removed to Cornell, Illinois, where he 
was engaged in mercantile business for ten 
years, and at the end of that time came to Iowa 
first locating in Harlan, Shelby county, where 
he Avas employed as clerk in a storJ for six 
months. He then came to Danbury in 1882 
as manager of the store of Sheppard, Field & 
Cook, of Council Bluffs, and held that positiou 
until elected cashier of the Danburv State Bank 
on its organization in 1889, having since served 
in that capacity. 

On the 16th of June, 1876, Mr. Santee was 
united m marriage to Miss Ada M. Gibson a 
daughter of James and Mary Gibson. Her 
father died in Illinois several years ago Mr 
and Mrs. Santee have an elegant home, sur- 
rounded by beautiful grounds and pleasantly 
located m a recent addition near the Catholic 
school, overlooking the town. Thev stand high 
socially and their home has become the center 
of a cultured society circle. 

Fraternally Mr. Santee is a member of Dan- 
bury Lodge, No. .387, A. F. & A. M. ; Monona 
Chapter, R. A. M., of Mapleton; Columbia 
Commandery, K. T., of Sioiux City; Danbury 
Chapter, 0. E. S. ; and El Kahir Temple of 
the Mystic Shrine at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He 
cast his first presidential vote for Samuel J. Til- 
den and continued to support the Democratic 
party until Grover Cleveland's first term, since 
which time he has affiliated with the Republi- 
cans, voting for Benjamin Harrision in 1888 
He stands high in the councils of his party and 
has been called upon to serve in numerous local 
offices. He was also a member of the twenty- 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



248 

seventh an.l t\\euty-c.ighth general assemblies 
of Iowa, being a nionibev of that body in lUOO, 
during the great senatcn'ial contest between 
Gear and Cummins. He gave his support to 
Geer, who was defeated, but the following year 
when Cummins was elected governor of the 
state he became one of his ardent supporters 
and was selected as governor's aide with the 
rank of colonel. In public office he has ever 
been found faithful, capable and trustworthy 
and national progress and local advancement 
are causes both dear to his heart. 



JACOB iXICOLAISEN. 

Jacob A'icolaisen, who is engaged in general 
farming and stock-raising on a tract of land of 
one hundred and sixty acres on section IS, 
Union township, was born in Schleswig-Hol- 
stein, Germany, on the 24th day of June, 1851. 
His boyhood days were spent in the fatherland 
and he received good school advantages in the 
German tongue, but is largely self-educated in 
English. He was thirty years of age when he 
came to the United States, attracted by the su- 
perior business opportunities of the new world 
where ambition and effort are not hampered by 
caste or class. He took passage on a ship sail- 
ing from Hamburg for ^^gw York and made 
his way direct to California, where he worked 
on a ranch. There he remained for five years, 
on the expiration of which period he came to 
Iowa, joining some German friends in Craw- 
ford county. He then looked about him in 
search of a fawrable location and bdught land 
in Ida county, on which he settled and began 
farming. There he built a house and barn and 
he conthiued the cultivation of the fields there 
for ten years. At the end of that time he sold 
the property, and in 1894 he bought one hiui- 
dred and sixty acres of land on section IS, 
Union to^vnship, Woodbury county. Again he 
took up the task of improving his place and he 
has since added to and remodeled the house. 



He has also built two good barns and other 
necessary outbuildings, has put in a wind-pump 
and has carried forward the work of improve- 
ment mitil excellent results have been accom- 
plished and his is a farm which many a man 
might well covet. He raises good stock in addi- 
tion to the production of the various cereals 
adapted to soil and climate, and his sales of the 
products of the farm bring to him a generous 
but well merited reward for his labors. 

:Mr. Nicolaisen was married in Ida county in 
18S5 to Miss Alvena Volkmann, a native of 
Germany, who was reared in Crawford county, 
Iowa. They are the parents of seven children : 
Christena, Nicolai, Elsie, Mary, Amil, Harvey 
and Kaymond. Mr. Nicolaisen has given his 
children good educational privileges and he is 
a warm friend of the public school system and 
believes in employing competent teachers. He 
is now serving on the school lioar<l as one of 
the directors and thus has opportunity to put 
his ideas concerning public instruction into 
practical effect. He exercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the men and measures of 
the Ecpublican party and is ever loyal to his 
adopted land and her free public institutions. 
His career has l)een characterized by persistent, 
honorable purpose, and crowned by a fair meas- 
ure of success. 



GEORGE A. DEWELL. 

One of the fine farms of Woodbury county is 
the property of George A. Dewell. His place 
comprises four hundred and eighty acres on sec- 
tions 13 and 14, Eock township, and as an agri- 
cultiirist and stock-dealer he is well kno\vn, 
having for long years conducted a successful 
business. He has lived in Woodbury coimty 
since 1886 and those who know aught of his 
career respect him for his enterprise, honorable 
dealing and sterling worth. He is a native son 
of Iowa, his birth having occurred in Cedar 
conntv on the ITth of August. 1859. The fam- 




JACOB XICOLAISEX AND FAMILY. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNT Y 



ilj of which he is a reijresentative is of French 
ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Solomon 
Dewell, was an early settler of Ohio and after- 
ward removed to Indiana. His son, Nathaniel 
Dewell, was born in the Buckeye state in 1830 
but was reared in Indiana, and as a comisanion 
and helpmate on life's journey he chose Miss 
Winnie JNT. McHowe, a native of Indiana. They 
began their domestic life in that state, where 
they remained for about seven years, and then 
removed to Iowa, making the journey by 
wagon. They settled in Cedar county and 
about 1858 removed to Dayton township 
where the father developed a farm of eighty 
acres. As his financial resources increased he 
made other purchases until his landed posses- 
sions aggregated more than six hundred acres 
of the choicest farm land (,f Cedar county. Up- 
on his home farm there he rean^l his "family 
and there resided until ISTU, when he pur- 
chased a farm adjoining Clarence, Iowa, mak- 
ing it his home until his death, passing awav 
in March, 1890. His wife had died man'v 
years before, her death occurring in 1864. 

George A. Dewell was reared to manhood in 
Cedar county upon the home farm, working in 
field and meadow thmugji tjif days of his boy- 
hood and youth or attending ' the common 
schools. Later he pursued a higher course of 
study and became a teacher of Jones county, 
l-ieing thus identified with educational interests 
for several terms. After his marriage, however, 
he turned his attention to farming on the old 
homestead in Cedar county, continuing the cul- 
tivation of a part of that place foi- sctou years. 
In 1886 he removed to Woodbury county and 
bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres 
on which some im]u-ovement ]ia<l been inade. 
There was a little house and a small stMl)le. He 
lived on the farm for Uvo seas.uis aii.l his ener- 
gies were devoted to the ciiltivatiun ,,f the soil 
and the raising of cro].s. He i)lanted a gn.ve, 
and also set out fruit trees. When his success 
made it possible for him to ])lace more substan- 
tial improvements upon his farm he built a neat 



251 

residence, a good barn and other substantial 
outbuildings and now has an excellent and well 
improved property. From time to time he pur- 
chased more land and now has four hundred 
and eighty acres. Here he is engaged in the 
production of grain and the raising and feed- 
ing of stock and for a number of years he has 
been engaged in breeding and dealing in Duroc 
Jersey hogs. He now has a herd of pure- 
blooded registered shorthorn cattle and is 
widely known as a most successful stock dealer 
and one whose judgment of stock is extremely 
reliable. He also owns the hotel property at 
Gushing. 

Mr. Dewell, in Jones county, Iowa, on the 
27th of February, 1879, Avas united in marriage 
to iliss Agnes Moore, who was born in Cedar 
county, but spent the days of her girlhood in 
Jones county, where she acquired her education. 
She is a daughter of Nathaniel Moore. Unto 
-Mr. and Mrs. Dewell hav Ikvu b,,rn seven chil- 
dren, of whom six are now living: Maude A., 
the Avife of Leroy J. Fowler, of Sioux Citv; 
Edith M., a well e<lucated young lady and now 
one of the successful teachers of the county; 
Cora Belle, at home; George iSFathaniel ; Wil- 
bur E. ; and Marguerite. They also lost one 
daughter, Blanche May, who died at the age of 
fourteen months. Cora Belle, after attending 
the common schools at Cushing, spent one year 
at Morningside Uuixersity, where she took the 
normal course, but the nmiu feature of her 
study was music, in which she has become quite 
jn-oficient. .Maude A., after finishing her com- 
mon school education, became a successful 
teacher in various rural schools of the county. 
She began teaching when but seventeen years 
of age, and when in her eighteenth year she 
entered the Northwestern University where she 
took up the pharmaceutical course, graduating 
therefrom in June, 1899. Her college career 
was rather exceptional as she mastered the two 
years' course and was graduated in forty weeks. 
This was partially due to her knowledge of 
Tatin, combined with an energetic disposition 



252 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



aiiJ liiird study. After her i;rii(liiatii>u she re- 
tmnicd hoiiic and taught another school for one 
term. Tlien she sectired a position with the Avell 
known drtig house of Hess & Moore, of Hornick. 
She was head bill clerk there for two and a half 
years, leaving tliiTe to hecoine tlie wife of Leroy 
Fowler, August I'O, l'.i02. 

The parents Imhl uicinberslii|) iu the ^lethod- 
ist Episcoi)al clnirch <>f ( 'ushiiig and Mr. De- 
well has been a life-long Keptiblican, never fal- 
tering in his allegiance to the party where na- 
tional issues have been involved. He served 
for four terms as township clerk, has been 
chairman of the school board for foiii'teen years 
and has been chairman of the Republican town- 
shiiJ committee. All pulilic positions which he 
has filled have fouiul in him a worthy incum- 
bent and in every relation of life he is known to 
be reliable and ti-nst wortliy, living so as to en- 
joy the respect and e(iutid(nee of his fellow 
men. His Imsiness career is worthy of high 
commendation and illustrates the fact that suc- 
cess is not a matter of genius but is the outcome 
of clear judgment, experience and unfaltering 
energy. lie has known what it is to work hard 
and unremittingly, and with a full realizatioii 
of tlie value of labor iu the active affairs of life 
be has advanced fmni a liuiuble financial posi- 
tion to one of affluence. 



WILLI A.M ()/(!( )()1» DAVIS, M. D. 

For twenty-seven years the ]irofessional ser- 
vices of Dr. William Ozgood Davis were ex- 
erted for the benefit of his fellow townsmen in 
Sioux City anil Wnudbury county, and through- 
out that ])eriii(l bis iuflueuce and su])]iort were 
also tangible factors in the social, nuiterial and 
moral progress of the community. His life 
work, characterized by all tliat is honorable, 
manly and sincere in man's relation with bis 
fellowman, gained fm' liiiu tlu' friendship and 
high regard of imiuy and his death occasioned 
public sorrow in Sioux ('ity. 

Dr. Davis was burn iu Queenstown, Tapper 



Canada, September l', 18i'.">, his parents being 
Jacob am] Sarah Maria (Eastman) Davis. 
While there is no record concerning the found- 
ing of the Davis family in America, it is de- 
finitely known that they were of Welsh descent 
and that the Doctor's ancestors removed from 
the United States to Canada at the time of the 
war for iudeiieiidence, for tbi/y did not believe 
in the severance of the ties which bound the 
colonies to the mother country. They were 
known as United Empire Loyalists and were 
given a large grant of land in Canada because 
of their allegiance to the British crown. C)ne 
of the Doctor's ancestors married a French llu- 
gtienot, another a Holland lady and a thii'd a 
native of Wales, and thus the blood of several 
nationalities is running in the veins of their 
descendants. In a very old Bible which be- 
longed to Dr. Davis' grandfather is the follow- 
ing, written in ink which is now quite faded : 

■■\\'illiai]i Davis, his book. 
CTod give him grace herein to look. 
And not to look, but to understand, 
That larning is much better than land. 
For when land is sold and money spent. 
Then larning is most excellent. 
And when my sounding bell shall tole, 
^lay the Lord of Heaven receive my sole." 

The ideas expressed in the above have been 
shared by most of the descendants of the 
writer. The UKiternal grandfather of Dr. 
Davis was Rev. Daniel Ward Eastman, who 
was the first Presbyterian minister allowed to 
perform the Presbyterian marriage service in 
Camida, as the service of the Church of En- 
gland was the one in general tise. 

When about ten years of age Dr. Da\is ac- 
(•onii)anied his parents on their removal to Lew- 
iston, ISTew York, where he continued his educa- 
tion, attending an academy which was then 
flourishing there. It is said that 'iie was very 
poptdar as a young man, lively and jolly, mak- 
ing friends of every one." He acquired his 
medical education in Geneva, I^ew York, was 
graduated with the class of 1847, and entered 
upon the ]iraetice of his profession in Xiagara 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



253 



Falls, Xew York, where he remaiued contiu- 
iioiisly until 1870, when he sought a home iu 
the west, locating at Sioiix City. lie was the 
first person to locate in what is now the beauti- 
ful suburb of Morningside. Entering upon his 
professional work here, iu the practice of medi- 
cine lie carried comfort and hope into inaiiv a 
household and liecamc the loved family ])hvsi- 
cian in many homes of the county. He was anx- 
ious to make his labors in the world count for 
the most possible, and therefore he was contin- 
ually reading in order to perfect himself in 
medical lore. In addition to handling a large 
and gratifying general practice, he served as 
a member of the United States examining 
board of surgeons for ])ensions from 1884 imtil 
1896. He belonged to the Woodbury County 
Medical Society, the Sioux ('ity ^ledical So- 
ciety, the Iowa State Medical Society and the 
American Medical Association. 

Dr. Davis was married in Meadville, Penn- 
sylvania, to Kate Eamsey Johns, who died in 
Sioux City, October 27, 1891. They had four 
children : William Johns, who died in Danville, 
Illinois, August 7, 1883; Darwin Finney, who 
is clerking for the Pellctier Dry Goods Com- 
l^any, of Sioux City, and is married and has one 
sou, William Johns: Kate, the wife of Allan 
G. Kennedy, of Prescott, Arizona : and Anna, 
who makes her home with her sister. On the 
17th of December, 1893, Dr. Davis was mar- 
ried to Elizabeth Cramer, of Sioux City, and 
they had one sdu, William Ozgood, born March 
31, 1S94. .M I's. 1 )a'i-is served for some time as 
matron nf the li.ys and Girls' H<mie, of Sioux 
City, a most worthy institution which has for 
its object the sheltering of homeless children 
or those whose parents are unable or unworthy 
to care for them. Mrs. Davis has rendered a 
signal service to human ify in this particular. 
On the L'9th of June, 1904. she resigned her 
position and was succeeded by ^Miss ^MartJia 
Miller, who was matron of The Orphanage at 
Des ]\roines two years and three vears at El- 



dora, Iowa. ^Irs. Davis is now in York, Ne- 
braska. 

Dr. Davis was a communicant of St. Thomas' 
Episcopal church of Sioux City from the time 
of his arrival here until his death and was al- 
ways deeply interested in everything pertaining 
to tiie moral progress and the best development 
of the city ami county. One of the local papers 
said of him at the time of his death, which oc- 
curreil February 18, 1897, "Dr. Davis was a 
man wjioni it was a jjleasure and inspiration 
to meet : his good fellowship was infectious, his 
laugh a very cure for the blues and although 
he had his full share of disappointments and 
sorrow he was never moody or cynical but al- 
ways cheerful, hoijeful and considerate. There 
was about him no cant, no double standard in 
veracity and his actions always exceeded his 
professions and lie lived an upright, truthfnl 
life. A marked trait iu his character was his 
loyalty to his friends; it jjained him to hear 
them criticised even if he felt that they de- 
served it, and when they needed help he did not 
stop to ])ray luit sought to gain God's help by 
helping them." Such a career makes the world 
better and though one's influence does not ex- 
tend beyond his local community it is neverthe- 
less a potent force for good in the world. 



STEPHEX S. ADA^ilS. 

Stephen S. Adams, now deceased, was en- 
gaged in dealing in wood and hay in Sioux 
City and left behind the record of an honorable 
business career as well as an upright private 
life. He Avas born in West Boxford, Massa- 
chusetts, November 8, 1842. his parents being 
Isaac and Sarah (Searles) Adams, both of 
whom are now deceased. At the usual age 
he began his education iu the juiblic schools 
of Massachusetts and was engaged in the foun- 
dry business with his brother until twenty-nine 
years of age when he sought a home in the west, 
making his wav to ^NfcCook, South Dakota. 



254 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WooDHn.'Y COUXTY 



This was in 187:^. lie engaged in fanning 
and stock-raising until he removed to Sioux 
City in 1892, when he turned his attention to 
dealing in wood and hay. Of the farm he had 
developed an excellent property. He placed 
his lands imdcr a high state of cultivation and 
he successfully carried on farm work, so that 
he became the possessor of a comfortable com- 
petence. In his mercantile efforts he has also 
prospered and 1k' coiitimied in the trade until 
his death, whit'h occnrrrd on the 1st of May, 
1S95. 

Mr. Adams was married on the 10th of 
March, 1872, to ^fiss Hannah Goodell, a 
daughter of Jcilni and Eliza f Pickens) Good- 
ell, both of whom are natives of Marshficld, 
Erie county, I^ew York. Mr. and Mrs. Adams 
became the parents of two sons. John Searles, 
who was born December 1, 1885, and died 
March 29, 1891 ; and Stephen James Searles, 
who was born October 1, 1887. ^[rs. Adams 
still carries on the business which was estab- 
lished by her husband and in its control has 
dis]ilayed excellent business ability, keen dis- 
cernment and marked executive force. 



.lOEL .\. WOODWORTH. 

Joel X. Wdddwdrtii was a very jjruminent 
and well-tii-d(i business man of Sioux (.'ity, 
where be engageil in the manufacture and sale 
of cigars as a wlmlesale dealer fi'om the time 
of his arrival here in ISS:) until his deatli. 
He was l)orn in IJristol township, Kenosha 
county, WiscDusin, in ^lareii, 1851, a son i>f 
Lafayette I), and Eliza (Smith) Woodwm-tli. 
the former a native of Vermont and the latter 
of Xew York. At an early day Lafayette I ). 
Woodworth settled in the west, going to Ke- 
nosha county, Wisconsin, and secured a home 
in Bristol township, where he engaged in farm- 
ing for several years. He afterward removed 
to the vicinity of Px'loit, Wisconsin, wh(>re he 
carried on fruit raising for a few vears and 



then returned to Kenosha county, where he en- 
gaged in general farming until his removal to 
Sioux City. Here he purchased land near 
Riverside Park and devoted his time and ener- 
gies to the raising of fruit. Residing here un- 
til his health failed he then decided to go fur- 
ther west. In 1852 he had made a trip to Cal- 
ifornia by wagon and when it liecame neces- 
sary for him to seek a change of climate ho re- 
niembere(l the pleasant experience and recollec- 
tions of that far off sunny land and again jour- 
neyed to California. After selling his property 
in Woodbury county he purchased twenty acres 
of land near Los Angeles, where he engaged 
in fruit raising until his death. His widow 
still resides on the fruit farm in Los Angeles 
county. 

Joel X. Woodworth obtained his education in 
the public schools of Beloit, Wisconsin, and 
then retTirned to Kenosha county. He tirst be- 
gan traveling on the road for a silver plating 
house in Waukegan, Wisconsin, but after a 
year he secured a position as a farm hand near 
Kenosha, where he worked for a short time. 
Later he went to Bristol, Wisconsin, where he 
])urcliased a small general mercantile establish- 
ment and carried on business for a year and 
a iialf. On the expiration of that period he 
renio\'eil to Truesdcll, Wisconsin, where he be- 
came ]iroprietoi- of a small geiuM'al store, but, 
meeting with reverses, he closed out liis busi- 
ness a year later. He next took up his abode 
in the i-ity of Kenosha, where he established a 
cigar business, conducting a jobbing trade. He 
pnrciiased a horse and wagon and ilrove over 
the country, selling his cigars to various mer- 
cliants. He was thus engaged for two years, 
after which he removed to Ellis county, Kansas, 
wliere he purchased a sheep ranch and conduct- 
ed a sti>ck liusiness for two years. On the ex- 
])iration of that perioil he returned to ivenosha. 
Wisconsin, where he engaged in clerking for 
six months. He theii left his family there and 
started for ^Mitchell, South Dakota, with the 
intention of establishimi' a ciuar store in that 








ccr^-UJ^/ 



1 



I 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



257 



place, but while on the way he met J. A. Wheel- 
er, now of Sioux City, who advised him to 
come to Woodbury county, and on the 15th of 
July, 1883, Mr. Woodworth removed his fam- 
ily to Sioux City, where he began in the cigar 
business as a jobber. He rented a small room 
in the second story of a downtown business 
house and there established what was known 
as the Woodworth ('. O. D. Cigar House. He 
began traveling on the railroad through South 
Dakota, selling his stock, and later his growing 
business demanded that he give his entire at- 
tention to its supervision from the office, which 
was afterward removed to ISTo. 219 Douglas 
street. He conducted a very extensive and 
profitable business, but for some time he was 
in ill health and in the hope of being benefited 
thereby made several trips to California. In 
1899 his physician lold him that he must quit 
business and go to the west. He then placed 
the cigar manufactory and store in charge of 
the J. N. Woodworth Cigar Company, in which 
he retained a financial interest. He went, how- 
ever, to Pasadena, California, in the fall of 

1899. His health imiiroved there and in .July, 

1900, he returned to Sioux City, where he re- 
sumed business, cuntinuing in tlie same line un- 
til liis health again failed. In October, 1903, 
he made another trip to Cnlifuniia, tliis being 
the eleventh one. He then settled in Los An- 
geles and established a cigar store, but his 
liealth gradually grew worse and be died on 
the 3d of March, 1904. 

On the 4th of Oetol)er, 1874, in Harvard, 
Illinois, Mr. Woodworth had been married to 
Miss Amelia E. Nichols, who was born in Lake 
county, Illinois, June 16, 1850, a daughter of 
James il. and Poljie A. (Austin) Nichols. Her 
father was a carpenter, contractor and architect 
and followed business along these lines in Wau- 
kegan, Wisconsin, and in Harvard, Illinois. 
Finally he removed to Pamona, California, 
where his death occurred July 23, 1902, and 
his widow still resides in that city. Unto ]\rr. 
and ilrs. Woodworth were born five children : 



Lulu, the wife of John E. Hathaway, a com- 
mission merchant of Sioux City; Minnie, the 
wife of Shelby K. Johnson, a dentist of Sioux 
City ; James, who is residing with his mother ; 
Winnie Belle, who died October 15, 1883; and 
Gertrude, at home. 

After the death <>i ji.-r husband ]\Irs. Wood- 
worth brought his remains back to Sioux City 
for interment and he was laid to rest in Logan 
Park cemetery. He was a member of the Mod- 
ern Woodmen camp and in his political views 
was a RepTiblican. Both he and his wife were 
members of the Whitfield Methodist Episcopal 
church of Sioux City, of which he was one of 
the founders, while she was one of the charter 
members. He was a very industrious man, en- 
ei-getic and diligent in business, kind-hearted 
and generous in his relations with his fellow 
men and he had many friends in business circles 
and in social life in Sioux City. He left his 
widow in a very comfortable financial condi- 
tion. She now owns fruit lands and f)t]ier 
property in r'alifornia and much valuable real- 
ty in Sioux ( 'ity, including three new resi- 
dences which she has recently erected here and 
which return to her a good rental. She also 
owns a nice liojne at Xo. ".100 West Fifth street, 
where she and her children reside, it having 
been the old home of Mr. Woodworth. The 
family is i^rominent here, occupying an en- 
vialile position in social circles and [Mr. Wood- 
worth is (ine whose memory is cherished because 
of his ujtright life, his fidelity to friendship 
and liis deep and helpful interest in the affairs 
of his adopted county. 



WILLIA:\1 II. HIXKHOUSE. 

William II. Ilinkhouse, a successful farmer 
and stock-raiser, living on section 19, Union 
township, where he has a farm of one hundred 
and seventy-three acres, was born in Hanover, 
Germany, Xovember 1, 1864. His father, 
liernanl Iliiiklionse, came to the United States 



258 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODKUPY COUNTY 



alidut ISSG, ji)iiiiiii;- liis cliildn'n in this coun- 
try. He 23urcli:isiMl a small farm in Ktitland 
tt)Avnsliip, Woodliiirv mnntv, and sj)ent his last 
j-ears here, jiassing away in the spring of 1895. 
His first wife died in 1866 and lie afterward 
married a^^ain. 

William II. ninklnniM' ^pcnf tin' tirst seven- 
teen years nf his life in llamiver, attended 
the ])ulilic sehiKils there anil after coining to 
.Vnierira learned I he Kmilish language as a 
stttdent in the ])nlilic scdiocils of Cedar cotmty, 
Iowa. It was in isSi' that he sailed for the 
United States, taking ship at Bremen for Xew 
York. He made his way direct to Cedar county, 
Iowa, where he jnineil sdiue fi'iends, and for 
seven years he was emphiyed as a farm hand, 
being in the service of bttt two men during that 
entire period. In ISiVl he came to "Woodbtiry 
cottnty, jnircliased ninety-three acres of raw 
land and at nnce began to place this under the 
jilow. He also built a little house and later he 
Ixmglit eighty-t\V(i acres adjoining the first 
tract. He now farms the entire place and he 
has recently comjileted a neat residence and 
good barns. The trees he has jilanted are now 
large and in fine condition and adil to the valtie 
as well as attractive a]i]iearance of the ])lace. 
He raises gxiod grades of stock and his farm is 
di\-ided into rich ))asfni-e land and jn-oductive 
fields, the lattei' yielding fine harvests. 

^[r. Ilinkhouse was nmrried in Woodbury 
county, October lit, 18117, to Miss Lena Bene- 
dix, who was born in Pottawattamie county, 
Iowa, and was a daughter of Fred Benedix, a 
native of Cermany, who, liowever, was reared 
in Illinois and Iowa. Removing to Woodbury 
county, this state, his daughter, ]\Irs. Ilink- 
house, was here reared from the age of ten 
years. Two children have been born unto our 
subject and his wife, Willis and Hilda. ^fr. 
Hinkhouse is a Democrat in his jwlitical views, 
but has never given his time and attention to 
the seeking of office. He has, however, served 
for several years as district treastirer and is a 
warm advocate of the public-school system. 



He and his wife were reared in the Lutheran 
faith and he is a member of the Masonic lodge 
at Correctionville and is also connected with the 
O. D. H. S., a German Society. All that he 
])ossesses has been acquired through his own ef- 
forts and his life history stands as a proof of 
the fact that success may be obtained through , 

]iersistent ett'oi't, laudal)le ambition and keen I 
business abilitv. 



KEY. PHILIP JOSEPH O'CONXOR. 

Kev. Philiii Josejih O'Connor, the priest in 
cliarge of St. Joseph's Catholic church at Sioux 
City, was born in Eaton, Preble county, Ohio, 
on the 2d of June, 185-4, and is a son of Philip 
and ^largaret (Lenihan) O'Connor, natives of 
Ireland. His early education was acquired in 
tile jMililic and parochial schools of Ottumwa, 
Iowa, be having accompanied his parents on 
their removal to this state in 1857. He after- 
wards became a stttdent in St. Francis' College 
at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and continued his 
studies in the LTniversity of Our Lady and 
Angels near Xiagara Falls, Xew York. Wlien 
he had completed his theological course he was 
ordained to the priesthood liy Bishop Ryan, of 
the Buffalo diocese, on the 16th of March, 1878, 
and has since devoted his time and energies 
with untiring zeal to his holy calling. He be- 
came assistant to Father McLaughlin at Clin- 
ton, Iowa, where he remained for five months 
and during that time he established a school 
there with ^Nfother Cecelia in charge. His first 
regular ])astorate was at Monticello, Iowa, 
where he continued for five years and under 
his guidance there the stone church and resi- 
dence were built, and in many other ways the 
work of the church was carried successfully for- 
ward. He was afterward appointed to Carroll, 
Iowa, where he labored for eighteen consecu- 
tive years. He Imilt a stone house of worship 
there, fitted u]i the parish hall and also added 
to the ]iroperfy, which because of the many im- 




EEV. 1'. J. o'coxxoi; 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUPY COUNTY 



261 



l^roveinents placed thereon became valuable and 
desirable. In 1902 he was transferred to St. 
Joseph's Catholic church in Sionx Citj, where 
he is now established, arriving here in the 
month of February. Already under his guid- 
ance the convent has been enlarged and school 
rooms increased and renovated, the different de- 
jiartments of church wurk liave been thoroughly 
organized and substantial advance has been 
made in the i^romotion of the church work. 



EUWAPd) W. GATES. 

One of the most 2Jrominent business men of 
Danbury is Edward W. Gates, who is the junior 
mendjer of the firm of Skcwis & Gates, dealers 
in grain and stock and manager of the Iowa- 
Minnesota Lumber Comjaany of Minneapolis. 
He was born in the town of Shullsburg, Lafay- 
ette county, AVisconsin, on the 18th of July, 
1869, and is of English ancestry. His father, 
William Gates, was a native of Cornwall, En- 
gland, born in Chasewater, February 13, 1832, 
and acquired his early education in the schools 
of that country, the knowledge there obtained 
being supplemented by night study after com- 
ing to America. In fact, much of his education 
was secured after his marriage. It was in 1846 
that he accompanied his parents, Joseph and 
Cordelia (Pollard) Gates, on their emigration 
to the new M'orld. They were also natives of 
Cornwall, the former born February 3, 1810, 
and the latter in September, 1809. The family 
located in Shullsburg, Wisconsin, where Joseph 
Gates died in 1886, at the age of seventy-six 
years, and his wife departed this life in 1887, 
at the age of seventy-eight. They had but two 
children, the younger being Mai'v Ann, now 
the wife of John Truran, of Sluillsljurg, Wis- 
consin, and the mother of seven children. 

In early life William Gates became a lead 
miner in England, that being the principal oc- 
cupation of the people of his community. He 
taught school in the United States for some 



time and at the age of seventeen years became 
a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, since which time much of his life has 
been devoted to the work of the ministry. He 
has been a great student and an original think- 
er along various lines, and is to-day a well in- 
formed man. 

William Gates was married in Shullsliurg, 
Wisconsin, August 24, 1854, to Miss Honor 
Skewis, whose birth occurred in Cambourne, 
England, May 28, 1829, her parents being Ed- 
ward and Mary (Pearse) Skewis. She was 
reared and educated in her native land, being 
eighteen years of age when she came to the new 
world ^\•itll her parents, who died in Shiillsburg, 
Wisconsin. In 1882 William Gates left Wis- 
consin and the following year was joined by 
his family in Lyon county, Iowa, where they 
located on a farm near Inwood. He continued 
to make his home thereon until 1902, when he 
took up his residence in Inwood, where he is 
now living at the ripe old age of seventy-two 
years, honored and respected by all who know 
him. He reads a great deal but is disposed more 
to study and deep thought, and is also calm and 
deliberate in manner and speech. In appear- 
ance he is a man of dark complexion with dark 
hair and eyes. His wife also has dark hair and 
brown eyes. She took the greatest pains to in- 
culcate in her children a love of study and took 
especial pains to teach them the value of a good 
name, being a woman of many admirable traits 
of character. 

In the family of this worthy couple were 
eight children, as follows : Elizabeth Ellen, 
born July 29, 1856, is the wife of James White, 
of Inwood, Iowa, and has one child, Harry, now 
eleven years of age. Caroline Jane, born 
May 28, 1858, died at the age of two and 
one-half years. Caroline Josephine, born 
April 9, 1862, is with her parents. Joseph 
Henry, born December 21, 1863, lives at Pock- 
well City, Iowa. He is married and has one 
child, Marjorie Thompson. [Nfarv Cordelia, 
born September 1, 1867, is with her parents. 



262 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBURY (,'OUXTY 



Edward W. is the next of the family. James 
Albert, born Xovember 23, 1870, was married 
in li)02. Elmer, born August 20, 1872, died 
at the age of two years. 

Edward W. Gates began his education in the 
public schools near his boyhood home and later 
spent three years at Cornell College, graduating 
in the academic department at the end of two 
years. After leaving school he taught for two 
years in the country schools and for one term 
in the grammar department of the Inwood pub- 
lic schools, succeeding Professor C. R. H. Dun- 
can, who resigned the principalship to enter the 
United States service during the Spanish- Amer- 
ican war. For a short time he was employed in 
a bank at Inwood and was then with the Skewis 
Lumber Company for six years, being ai 
Rock Valley, Iowa, a part of that time. He 
was afterward local manager for the company 
and subsequently came to Danbury as manager 
for the Iowa-Minnesota Lumber Company, in 
which capacity he is still serving in connection 
with his other business. In November, 1903, 
he became a member of the firm of Skewis & 
Gates, grain and stock dealers, F. H. Skewis 
owning a half interest in the enterprise. They 
are doing a successful business, having already 
built up a good trade which is constantly in- 
creasing. 

Gn the 17th of December, l'J02, :Mr. Gates 
was united in marriage to !Miss Mysta ^L Erick- 
son, who was born IMarch 15, 1877, a daughter 
of Christian and :\Iary (Hoyland) Erickson. 
They are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church of Danbury, in which faith ]\Ir. Gates 
was reared, his family all holding membership 
in that denomination. JTe is a member of the 
Masonic order, Ijcing made a jNIason June 29, 
1904; the Gdd Fellow.^ Lo,lge, Xo. .■i21, in 
which he has filled ;dl the chairs and is now 
past grand, and also belongs to the iEodern 
Woodmen Camp, Xo. 3398, at Inwood, of which 
he has been esteemed banker. His political sup- 
port is given the Republican party and its prin- 
ciples, but he takes no active i)avt in ]iolirical 



affairs, preferring to give his undivided atten- 
tion to his business interests. He is a man of 
energy, enterprise and good business ability, 
and the success that he has achieved in life is 
due entirely to his own well directed efforts and 
the training which he received during his boy- 
hood. He is widely and favorably known in 
his section of the county and has made many 
warm friends here. 



THE SA]\rARITAX IIGSPITAL. 

In 1881 the Women's Christian Association 
of Sioux City decided to establish the Samari- 
tan Hospital and this work was successfully 
carried on until the institution was opened to 
the public on the 11th of December of that 
year. It being the only hospital within a wide 
radius it was found necessary before erecting 
the present commodious and modern building 
to increase its capacity at two different times. 
There are now accommodations for sixty jja- 
tients and the number of demands has stead- 
ily risen from sixteen the first year to seven 
hundred and forty-seven in 1902. The hos- 
pital was placed in comparatively easy financial 
circumstances by the payment of a mortgage 
of ten thousand dollars on the 1st of Gctober, 
1898. In 1897 F. H. Peavey, a wealthy grain 
dealer of Minneapolis, made the association an 
offer of five thousand dollars if it would raise 
a like svim from among the people of Sioux 
City. This was done and the hospital was thus 
freed from the burden of debt. Since that 
time many improvements have been made. 
Xew rooms have been added by finishing off 
the third floor and to-day the Samaritan Hos- 
pital is one of the largest Protestant hospitals 
in Iowa. In connection with the hospital there 
is a training school of twenty-five niirses who 
make their home in a building owned by the 
association and fitted up with all modern im- 
])rovements. The hospital is non-sectarian and 
open to ])liysicians and surgeons of both schools 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUIfY COUXTY 



263 



aii<l here erery facility is afforded for the care 
and treatment of iiatients. Its board of direc- 
tors is composed of a number of the leadino- 
ladies of Sioux Citv. 



H. F. WALDO. 



Prominent among the agriculturists of Ked- 
ron township is II. F. Waldo, who is living 
on section 31, and there are eighty acres in 
his home i^lace, M'hieh is situated about a mile 
and a half from Anthon. Since May, 1866, 
he has lived in Iowa and since 1880 in Wood- 
bury county. A nati\-e of Vermont, he was 
born in Proctor county, on the 30th of July, 
185-1. His father, S. F. Waldo, whose birth 
occurred in Xew Hampshire in 1824, was 
reared in that state and in Vermont and in 
early life he ^\-orked in a woolen factory. He 
was married in Proctor county to Miss Harriet 
Adams, a native of the Green Mountain state, 
and two children were born unto them during 
their residence in New England. About 1851 
they removed westward to Wisconsin, settling 
in Sac county, where jMr. Waldo established 
a woolen mill for others and then took charge 
of the plant, continuing its operation until 1866 
or for fifteen years. On coming to Iowa he 
settled in Mitchell, where he formed a partner- 
ship and established a woolen mill, being there 
engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods 
for four years or until 1870. On the expira- 
tion of that period he removed to Pottawattamie 
county, secured a tract of land and develojied 
a new farm, whicli was entirely unimproved 
when it came into his possession. His labors 
were characterized by untiring perseverance 
and capal)le management and he continued 
farniini;- for many years. His death occurred 
in Carson in 1S!)7. His wife had passed away 
many years before, her death occurring in 1850, 
and 'Mr. Waldo afterward married ajrain. 

H. F. Waldo is one of two children who were 
born of the fafbcr's first niarriaoT- and his sis- 



ter is Emogene Waldo, mnv the \vife of I). 
F. Perry, of Pottawattamie county, Iowa. It 
\vas in that county that the subject of this re- 
view spent the days of his boyhood and youth. 
He acquired his early education in the district 
schools, afterward attended a high school and 
remained with his father until twenty-one years 
of age. :N'ot long after this he started out in 
life on his own account and secured as a com- 
panion and helpmate for life's journey Miss 
Ada Williams, a native of Illinois, who was 
born in Henry county near Kewanee. The 
marriage was celebrated in Pottawattamie 
county, Iowa, February 5, 187!). The lady is 
a daughter of E. E. Williams, who was born 
and reared in Xcw York, and was married 
there to Miss Lucretia Lester, also a native of 
the Empire state. Mr. Williams was an early 
settler of Henry county, Illinois, and in 1856 
came to Iowa, settling first in Tama county, 
while subsequently he removed to Pottawatta- 
mie county. 

My. and :\rrs. AVald,. I,egan their domestic 
life in ]\^ebraska, establishing their home in 
Franklin county upon a tract of land which 
they secured under the homestead laws. Mr. 
Waldo opened a farm there, upon which he 
lived for a year after his marriage and for 
flirci" years before that time. In 1880, how- 
ever, he returned to Iowa, settling in Grant 
township, Woodbury county, where he con- 
ducted a farm for eight years. On the ex- 
piration of that period lie sold out and pur- 
chased his present ]),,nic. He has since built 
a good house and a new barn, has planted fruit 
and shade trees and has developed a very ex- 
cellent projierty, which is neat and thrifty in 
ap]iearance and gives every evidence of his 
careful supervision and his progressive farm- 
ing methods. All that he has acquired has 
l)ecn won thi'ongh liis untiring labor and 
cajiable managi-nient. His life history proves 
the value of industry and enterju-ise as result- 
producing factors in the luisiness world. 

T^nto Mr. and Mrs. Waldo have been born 



1 



264 



PAST ANU PRESENT OF WOODHUUY COUNTY 



three eliildreii : .Muua, who is now the wife of 
James Adams, of Battle Creek, Iowa; Ehou, 
who assists his father in carrying on the home 
farm; and Lctha, who is also nnder the parental 
roof. iir. Waldo voles with the Republican 
party and has been a stanch supporter thereoi. 
At local elections, however, he casts his ballot 
independently for there is no issue before the 
people and the only question for consideration 
is the capability of the candidates for office. 
He served for four or five years on the Anthon 
independent school board and believes in em- 
ploying good teachers and providing excellent 
educational privileges to the children in order 
that they may be fitted for life's practical and 
responsible duties. Mr. Waldo is a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at 
Anthon and is the present noble grand, a posi- 
tion which indicates his high standing among 
his brethren of the fraternity. He is also con- 
nected with Anthon lodge, A. F. & A. M. For 
many years he has been identified with the up- 
building and with the interests of Woodbury 
county and all who know him entertain for him 
the respect which is accorded to men of genuine 
worth and reliability. 



CHARLES T. WESTCOTT. 

Charles T. Westcott, conducting the leading 
undertaking business in Sioux City, was born 
in Killingly, Connecticut, in 1840. His fa- 
ther, James Westcott, also a native of that 
place, was a farmer by occupation and in 1856 
came to Sioux City, Tnwa, but later removed 
to Dakota county, Xel)raska, settling upon a 
farm near Jackson, where he spent his remain- 
ing days. He voted with the Republican party 
and while residing in Connecticut served as a 
grand juror ami as constable. In early man- 
hood he married ^Miranda Bartlett, who was 
born in Killingly, Connecticnl. and died at 
the age of seventy-three years, while her hus- 
band passed away at the age of tifry-nine 



years. They attended the Baptist church and 
were parents of three children: George T., 
now deceased; Charles T. ; and George E., 
who is conducting in Sioux City the largest liv- 
ery business of Iowa. 

In the public schools of his native town 
Charles T. Westcott pursued his education. 
He came with his mother and brother to Sioux 
City and the following year located upon the 
farm which his father had purchased in Ne- 
braska. He followed agricultural pursuits in 
that state for seven years and then returned to 
the east to take care of his grandparents. In 
the spring of 1881, however, he returned to 
the west, located again in Sioux City and after- 
ward spent another year on the farm. On the 
1st of March, 1882, he opened an undertaking 
establishment in Sioux City, which he has since 
conducted and has now the principal business 
in his line in the city, located at No. 419 Pearl 
street. He is a member of the Iowa Funeral 
Directors' Association. 

Mr. Westcott was married at the age of twen- 
ty-three years to Louisa A. Aldrich, of Killing- 
ly, Connecticut, a sister of L^nited States Sen- 
ator Aldrich. She died in May, 18TS. They 
had four children, of whom two are now living: 
James E., who is with his father: and Louisa 
M., the wife of Elmer A. Blood, who is en- 
gaged in the coal business. On the 18th of De- 
cember, 1881, Mr. Westcott was again married, 
his second union being with Jennie Law, of 
Killingly, Connecticut. 

'Sh: Westcott belongs to various frateriuil or- 
ganizations, including the Odd Fellows lodge 
and the Relickah auxiliary, the Knights of 
Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the I\Iod- 
ern Woodnu>n of America, the Improved Order 
of Red ]\Icn, and is also identified with the 
Commercial Club. In his political views he is 
an earnest Republican and has served as a 
arand juror: constable; ffs deputy sheriff, which 
]iosition lie filled for seventeen years: and as 
ahlerman at large for Sioux City in 18'.>5-(i. 
Til .-ill his ]iublic duties he was fair and reliable, 




O^ I ff^^xfei:^?^ 




JAMES WESTCOTT. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODJIUHY COI'XTY 



869 



and as a citizen as well as business man he 
lias made an enviable record. 



(i. L. rllAUSSE. 



G. L. Chausse, engaged in general fanning 
and stock-raising in Wolf Creek township, 
where he has one hundred and eighty acres of 
arable land, dates his residence in Woodbury 
county from the year 1882. He was born in 
Menominee township, Jo Daviess county, Illi- 
nois, June 27, 1855, and is of French lineage. 
His parents were Anthony and Adeline 
(Gothier) Chausse. The father was born in 
Canada and when a young man came to 
the United States, being married in St. Paul, 
Minnesota, to Miss Gothier, whose birth oc- 
curred in St. Louis, Missouri. They became 
residents of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and the 
father, who was a carpenter and joiner by trade, 
began contracting and building there, being ac- 
tively associated with Imilding ojjerations in 
that locality up to the time of his death, which 
occurred October 31, 1895. 

G. L. Chausse is the only living child of the 
family. He passed the daj-s of his boyhood and 
youth in the county of his nativity, being reared 
upon a farm. The father died when he was but 
nine years old and he was reared liy his ma- 
ternal grandfather, with whom he continued 
until the latter's death. Mr. Chausse was then 
but sixteen years of age and he started out in 
life on his own account, having in the mean- 
time acquired a fair education in the public 
schools. He worked by the month as a farm 
hand for twelve years and his persistency of 
purpose and .honorable dealing proved the 
foundation of his prosperity. When a yoiing 
man he came to Iowa and was employed as a 
farm hand here for one year. 

On the 25th of Fel)ruary, 1884, Mr. Chausse 
was united in marriage, in Wolf Creek to^vn- 
ship, to Miss Anna Roark, who was born in 



•lackson county, Iowa. Prior to his mai'riage 
he had purchased land in Wolf Creek town- 
shijj, becoming the owner of a raw tract of 
two hundred acres. To this farm he took his 
bride and with characteristic energy he began 
the develoijment and cultivation of the land, 
which he placed under the plow and developed 
into very rich fields. He sold the farm in 
1891 and then purchased liis present place, 
comprising one hundred and eighty acres on 
section 24, Wolf Creek township. He has built 
a good substantial house, commodious stable 
and outbuildings, and his labors have resulted 
in the development of a property which is now 
creditable to the county, because it is in har- 
mony with progressive ideas of agriculture, 
lie lias jjlanted shade and fruit trees and all 
the equipments of a model farm are there 
found. In addition to the cultivation of the 
fields Mr. Chausse raises stock in Wolf Creek 
township and his annual sales of his crops and 
of his stock bring him a good financial return. 
Unto Mr. and ]\Irs. Chausse have been born 
six children : Joseph, Emily, Raphael, Cece- 
lia, Catherine and Mary. The parents are 
members of the Catholic church at Anthon. 
Mr. Chausse is a Democrat, and was elected 
and served for two years as justice of the peace. 
As a member of the school board he has done 
effective service in behalf of the cause of edu- 
cation and as a delegate to party conventions 
he has aided in shaping the policy of his party 
in this locality. He is a man of courteous 
manner, inflexible principle and unquestioned 
integrity and possesses that practical common 
sense which never runs to extremes. 



OSCAR L. JOHNSON. 

Sweden has furnished to America many of 
the most valued, worthy and enterprising citi- 
zens living in northwestern Iowa, Minnesota 
and the Dakotas. The strong characteristics 
of the race and their energy and perseverance, 



270 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WUUDBUIJY COUNTY 



which have always been doiuiiuuit factors 
among the Swedish people, are noticeable in the 
career of Mr. Johnson. He was born Septem- 
ber 7, 1863, and is a sou of N. P. and Caro- 
line Johnson, who came to America in ISTO, 
settling first at Red Wing, Minnesota, where 
the father rented a tract of laud, giving his 
atteution to its development and improvement 
for a few years, when he moved to Sioux City, 
Iowa, and here remained to the time of his 
death, which occurred in 18'.)'.>. His wife still 
survives him and yet makes her home in lied 
Wing. 

Oscar L. Johnson was but seven years of age 
at the time of the emigration to the new world 
and he pursued his education in the public 
schools of Ked Wing until eleven years of age, 
when he started out to make his own way in 
the world, beginning life as a farm hand. He 
was employed in that way for three years and 
afterward secured a position in a shoe factory 
at Red Wing, where he remained for two years. 
He next went to Minneapolis, where he was 
employed as shipping and receiving clerk in the 
house of S. E. Olson & Company, his fidelity 
and ability in that position being demonstrated 
by the fact that his connection with the house 
continued for nine years. During that time he 
attended night school. On the expiration of 
that period he came to Sioux City in 1890, ar- 
riving in the fall. Here he worked in a res- 
taurant for his brother for two years and then 
established a restaurant of his own at N"o. 804 
Fourth street, as a partner of his brother. 
After two years they established the Arcade- 
restaurant and two years later Oscar L. John- 
son bought out his brother's interest. When 
another two years had ])assed he took charge 
of the Arcade Hotel and sold a half interest 
in the restaurant, but still retains the other 
half. He is also proprietor of the hotel and 
has now for many years been connected with 
the business of entertaining the public. 

On the 10th of October, 1889, Mr. Johnson 
was united in marriage to IMiss Hilda Lind- 



stam, a daughter of L. J. Lindstam. They 
have three children: Clarence Walter, Allen 
Ednmnd and Karl Oscar. -Mr. Johnson gives 
his political allegiance to the Rejiublican jjarty 
and keeps well informed on the questions and 
issues of the day, but has never sought or de- 
sired jDublic office, preferring to give his atten- 
tion to his business affairs. As the years have 
passed and ])rosi)erity has come to him he has 
made judicious investments in real estate and 
he now owns \-aliuible property in Sioux City. 
He likewise has a business block in Confrey, 
Minnesota, and a half section of land in Beadle 
countj", South Dakota, together with residence 
property in Sioux City which he rents. His 
realty is the visible evidence of his life of en- 
ergy, in which good jiidgment has guided his 
untiring effort with the result that a very grati- 
fvino- measure of success has been attained. 



K. W. MILLER. 



E. W. ^liller, who after many years of active 
connection with agricultural interests in Wood- 
bury county, is now living a retired life in 
Pierson, claims Pennsylvania as the state of his 
nativity, his birth having occurred in Bedford 
county on the Ifith of November, 1829. He is 
a son of Jacnh W. ]\Iiller, also a native of Bed- 
ford county, l>orn in 180 L The grandfather, 
Robert Miller, w-as likewise a native of Penn- 
sylvania and ihe family is of Irish lineage. 
The first representative of the name in Amer- 
ica was Samuel ^filler, who, leaving the Emer- 
alil Isle, sought a home in iLiryland. His 
son, Robert IMiller, Sr., was born at Pike Creek, 
]\rarvland, Juno 27, 1761, and died in Bedford 
county, Pennsylvania, in 1843, at the advanced 
age of eighty-two years. The family were 
among the first settlers of Bedford county, tak- 
ing an active part in laying the foundation for 
development and progress there. 

E. ^V. j\Iiller was reared in the county of 
his nativitv and received but common school 





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E. W. .MILLER AXD FAMILY. 



F 



PAST AND I'JIESEXT OK \V()(J])BL1!Y COUXTY 



i?3 



advaiitoges. lie was the eldest sou oi a family 
of twelve children and his services were needed 
on the home farm where he assisted in the ardu- 
ous task of clearing new laml and developing 
hitherto uncultivated fields. The family home 
was in the midst of the green forests of Bedford 
county and it required much strenuous labor 
to clear away the trees and prepare the land 
for the plow. Thus the youth of ilr. Miller 
was largely a period of earnest and unremitting 
toil. lie engaged in teaching school for several 
terms prior to his marriage and for two terms 
afterward. 

On the 1st of December, 1853, in Bedford 
county, Pennsylvania, was celebrated the mar- 
riage of E. W. Miller and Miss Catherine De 
Vore, a native of that county, born January 1, 
1836. Pier father, Jacob G. De Vore, was of 
French ancestry. Mr. Miller afterward re- 
moved to Stephenson county, Illinois, where he 
engaged in the cultivation of a new farm, which 
he continued to improve for several years. He 
then sold that property and went to Missouri, 
locating near Wellsville, Montgomery county, 
in 1868. There he carried on general farming 
for fifteen years and when he sold that property 
in 1883 he came to Iowa and purchased a farm 
a mile and a quarter west of Pierson. He 
owned there two hundred and forty acres of 
arable land on which he placed good improve- 
ments, adding all modern equipments and ac- 
cessories. He prospered in his undertakings 
throiigh the productiveness of the land, owing to 
his careful cultivation and supervision, the 
fields returning to him rich crops which found 
a ready sale on the market. Thus year by year 
he was enabled to add to his financial resources 
and on the 14th of November, 1899, he left 
the farm and purchased residence property in 
Pierson, where he has since lived in the en- 
joyment of the fruits of his former toil. 

Mr. and Mrs. ^liller are the jiarents of seven 
sons and four daughters, all of whom are mar- 
ried and now have families of their own. The 
familv circle has never been broken by the 



hand of death and there are now thirty-five liv- 
ing grandchildren. ]slv. and j\Irs. ^liller cele- 
brated their golden wedding annivt-rsarv l)e- 
cemljer 1, 1903, at Ida Gruve at ihe resilience 
of a daughter. All of their children were pres- 
ent and most enjoyable was the occasion and 
one long to be remembered. The eldest son, 
J. D. Miller, is a lawyer of Geneva, Illinois ; 
Elijah E. is a practicing physician living at 
Verdella, Missouri; John S. is a member of 
the medical fraternity engaged in active prac- 
tice in Aurora, Illinois ; Samuel B. is a farmer 
of Scotland, South Dakota; William C. is a 
lawyer of Des Moines; Ira G. is a resident 
farmer of Pierson; Edward J. owns and oper- 
ates the old homestead farm ; Mary Ida is the 
wife of C. S. Macomber, a lawyer of Ida Grove, 
Iowa ; Anna Laura is the wife of D. D. Cottrell, 
a grain merchant and dealer in machinery at 
Xewkirk, Oklahoma ; Clara Alice is the wife 
of Walter S. Sterling, an electrician of Sioux 
City; and Katie Estella is the wife of F. F. 
NicoUs, a druggist of Pierson, Iowa. 

Politically a Republican, ilr. ]\[iller gives 
an earnest support to the principles of the party, 
but has never sought or desired office and has 
never aspired to positions of political prefer- 
ment save that for two years he was assessor. 
He and his wife are members of the Christian 
church, in which he occupies official positions, 
and they are well known in Woodbury county, 
having an extensive circle of warm friends who 
entertain for them high regard by reason of 
their sterling worth and many excellencies of 
character. 



W. W. COON. 



W. W. Cuun, an enterprising and thrifty 
farmer living on section 19, Rock township, 
and devoting his energies to the raising of 
grain and stock, has a valuable tract of land 
comprising five hundred and ten acres. His 
residence in Woodbury county covers twenty 
years, dating from 18S4. He was born in In- 



274 



TAST AND PRESP:NT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



diana on the 14th of Jainiarv, 1S47, and is a 
son of George Coon, ,Ir., wlio was a native of 
Pennsylvania, and a grandson of George Coon, 
Sr., who was of Gernum ancestry. The hitter 
i-cniiived 1(1 Oliiii, lieccmung one of the early set- 
tlers ill that state and there George Coon, Jr., 
was reared. When a vonng man he removed to 
Indiana, where he married Elizabeth Blake, a 
native of Virginia. .Mr. Coon followed farm- 
ing ill Indiana for several j-ears and two of his 
children were born tliei-e. In 1849 he removed 
to Wisconsin, locating in Iowa county and snli- 
seqiiently he took np his abode in Sank county. 
Ahont 18(38 he became a resident of Madison 
connty, Iowa, but still later established his 
lidiiie in SJielby county, this state. 

W. W. Coon was reared in Wisconsin, where 
lie eiijnye<l good school privileges, and was 
trained to habits of industry and economy upon 
the old home farm. He was married in Shelby 
county, Iowa, in 1874, to Miss Elizabeth An- 
derson, who was born and reared in Wisconsin. 
The young couple began their domestic life up- 
iiii a farm in Shelby county, where he carried on 
agricultural ]>ur.'^ints for several years or until 
alioiit 1884, when he came to Woodbury coun- 
ty and purchased the farm iijion which he now 
resides. This at first comprised one htindi-ed 
and ten acres and he at once began to cultivate 
and improve the place. He has built a good 
residence and two good barns and has also 
added other equipments. He has stock scales, 
tlie latest improved machinery, and has planted 
fruit and shade trees. In fact, the fine ap- 
jxarance of the farm is largely due tn his ef- 
forts, and he has extended the boimdaries of 
his jfiace from time to time by additional pur- 
cjiase until it now ciunprises fi\-e liuiidred aiul 
ten acres, all of which is valuable land. Mr. 
Coon commenced life a poor man and liy strong 
juirpose and indefatigable effort, together with 
the assistance of his estimable wife, he has ac- 
<|nir(>d a valuable property. 

Unto ^Ir. and ]\rrs. Coon have been born nine 
cliildrcn. wlio are vet livin<r: Eva, the wife 



of James ilcLean, of Correetionville ; Alva, 
who is married and lives in Correetionville; 
James, at home ; Elsie, Forrest, Zelma, Wilbur, 
Gladys and Goldie, all of whom are yet under 
the jjarental roof. 

Politically ^Ir. Coon is a Democrat where 
national issues are involved, but at local elec- 
tions votes indei^endently. He has never been 
an aspirant for office, preferring to give his 
attention to his business affairs. His wife is 
a member of the Evangelical church and they 
are well known in Woodbury county, where 
for twenty-eight years they have resided, win- 
ning the confidence and esteem of all by their 
upright lives. 



JOHN BOYD TYKKELL, M. I). 

Dr. John Boyd Tyrrell, a j)liysician and sur- 
geon of Hornick, whose natural and acquired 
ability is sitch as to rank him with the leading 
representatives of his profession in tiiis por- 
tion of the state, was born in Waterville, Min- 
nesota, July 30, 187<'), his liirthplace being his 
father's farm, upon Avhich he remained until 
eighteen years of age. He is a son of Edward 
and ]\rarv (Ratchford) Tyrrell. The father 
was born in Ireland about sixty-seven years ago, 
while the mother's birtji nccnrrcd in the state of 
ilaine fifty-five years ago. Dr. Tyrrell knows 
little of his ancestral history in the paternal 
line, save that when his grandparents were 
crossing the Atlantic to America cholera broke 
out on ship and both died, together with all of 
their children, with the exception of Thomas 
and Edward Tyrrell, aged respectively eleven 
and nine years. This fatal voyage was made in 
1848. The children were taken to Montreal, 
Canada, and in that country were cared for, but 
they were separated and neither heard 
of tiie other again. Dr. Tyrrell's father was 
lioniid to a farmer, wjin paid him two dollars a 
uionth for his services and at the end of a year 
lie hacl iiianaoed to save nineteen dollars from 





^. ^ 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



277 



his little salary. Some years afterward he 
made his way to the jDineries of j\Iaine and 
engaged in logging on the Kennebec and Penob- 
scot rivers for a number of years. At the time 
of the mining excitement in California he 
made his way to the Pacific coast, wJiere he 
remained for three or four years, meeting with 
a very desirable measnre of success during that 
period. He accmnulated three or four thou- 
sand dollars while in the mining regions and 
then returned to Maine. There he was united 
in marriage to Miss Mary Katchford, a daugh- 
ter of Thomas Ratchford, a lumberman of 
Maine. She spent her girlhood days under the 
parental roof in the Pine Tree state and re- 
ceived but limited educational privileges, but 
she developed a character that has made her a 
devoted wife and mother, carefully managing 
the interests of the household. Her brothers 
and sisters are as follows : John, the eldest, 
now seventy years of age, is married and re- 
sides in Waterville, Minnesota ; Thomas has 
reached the age of sixty-five ; Christopher, sixty 
years of age, is living in Alturas, California ; 
Margaret, fifty-seven years of age, is now the 
wife of John Gibson, resides at Waterville, 
Minnesota, and has three sons and one daugh- 
ter: Anna, aged sixty-three years, is the wife 
of Daniel Brophy and is living in Waterville, 
Minnesota; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Temple, is 
sixty-seven years of age and makes her home in 
Maine. 

After his marriage Edward Tyrrell removed 
to Minnesota, where he purchased a quarter sec- 
tion of land, which was wild and unimproved. 
He also had a team of oxen, Iniilt u]ion his 
farm a log cabin and is still living on the old 
homestead there. Unto him and his wife were 
born nine children, five sons and four daughters, 
all of whom are yet living, with two exceptions, 
Lewis having died at the age of eleven years of 
"scarlet fever, and Robert, who was a twin broth- 
er of Norbert. Austin Edward, the eldest, now 
thirty-three years of age, is married and resides 
in Washintrton, D. C, bcins; a clerk in the de- 



partment of the interior. He woi'ked on the 
home farm in Minnesota until twenty-one years 
of age, when lie studied stenography and entered 
the emjjloy of the Groat Xorthern Railroad 
Comjjany at Great Falls, ]Montana. Later he 
resigned that position to enter the services of 
the Anaconda Mining Comi^any, at Belt, Mon- 
tana, where he remained for two years. Again 
he resigned and took the civil service examina- 
tion and was apjjointed by President Roosevelt 
to liis present position in Washington. He was 
married in 1902 to Rena Johnson. Kathleen 
Clave, the second member of the family, was 
educated in the high school at Waterville, Min- 
nesota, and in a private school at Waseca, Min- 
nesota, and is now at home. Edyth Mae is the 
wife of Burt Bean, a real-estate agent of Chi- 
cago, Illinois. John Boyd of this review was 
the fourth of the family. Emma Gertrude is 
a stenographer at New Ulm, Minnesota, in the 
emi^loy of the l^ew Ulm Milling Company. She 
attended the public schools of Waterville, Min- 
nesota, until she had completed the high school 
course and afterward pursued a cotirse in ste- 
nography in the Commercial College at Manka- 
to, Minnesota. Walter Philip, educated in the 
public schools of Waterville, Minnesota, is now 
assisting his father in the operation of the home 
farm. Alma Jeanne, also at home, is now a 
student in the high school at Waterville. Alfred 
and ISTorbert, the younger members of the fam- 
ily, are likewise at home. 

Dr. John Boyd Tyrrell acquired his early 
education in the public schools of Waterville 
and afterward pursued an academic course in 
the University of Minnesota, where on the com- 
jdetion of a four years' course he was graduated 
in the class of 1898. Having determined to 
make the practice of medicine his life work he 
then entered Rush Medical College, the medical 
department of the University of Chicago, and 
pursued a four years' course whereby he won 
the Doctor of ]\Iedicine degree and was gradu- 
ated in May, 1902. He then located for prac- 
tice in Hornick, Iowa, where he has since re- 



278 



r.VST AXD PEESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



mained. lie pursued a four months' course in 
sijecial surgery at the Preshyterian Hospital 
in Chicago before locating in Hornick, and he 
is thoroughly conversant with the most modern 
methods kno\\Ti to the profession and is well 
equipped for the arduous and difficult duties 
which devolve upon the medical practitioner. 
Already he has demonstrated his skill and abil- 
ity in handling a number of important cases 
and the public recognizes his professional skill 
that well entitles him to a liberal patronage. 

Dr. Tyrrell was married on the 23d of Decem- 
ber, 1903, to Miss Mayme Stewart, a daughter 
of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan R. Stewart, of Horn- 
ick. Her parents are of Scotch descent and re- 
moved from Illinois to Iowa. She was born 
September 27, 1883, was reared in this state 
and comiDleted her education by graduation 
from the Onawa high school. In politics he is 
an independent Eepublican. He voted for Mc- 
Kinley and Roosevelt, but in local politics is 
independent, supporting men and measures 
rather than party. Socially he is connected with 
the Modern Woodmen Camp at Hornick. He 
is well known both professionally and socially 
here and the circle of his friends is constantly 
broadening as the circle of his acquaintance 
increases. 



LOUIS C. STEPHENS. 

Louis C. Stephens, the secretary and man- 
ager of the Co-operation Beer Company of 
Sioux City, was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, 
in 1858. His parents were William and Phili- 
pina (Ostoff) Stephens, both of whom were 
natives of Germany. The father followed vari- 
ous occupations, including surveying. He came 
to the United States in the '40s and after spend- 
ing a short time in Buffalo, Xew Y'ork, made 
his way to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he 
conducted a hotel for a number of years. He 
served as constable for several terms and held 
other positions, the duties of which he dis- 



(•h;irg(Ml with |iriini]iiii('ss and fidelity. Ho was 
a i-ccruiting otlicer at the time of the Civil 
w;ir and was a loyal defender of the Union 
cause. Through his well directed business af- 
fairs he obtained a comfortable competence and 
he died in 1899 at the age of seventy-nine years, 
haviui;- for sixteen months survived his wife. 
They \\-erc married in Biiffalo, ISTew York, and 
became the parents of four children: Louis C. ; 
Fred, who is a member of the fire department 
in Shebdygan, Wisconsin; Amelia, the deceased 
wife of Peter Locrsch ; and William, who has 
also passed away. The mother was a member 
of the Gorman Reformed church. 

Louis C. Stephens pursued his education in 
the public schools of his native city and in 1872 
enlisted in the naval service on the lakes, being 
assigned to the revenue cutter Andrew Johnson. 
He served for one year and was then honorably 
discharged, after which he learned the cigarmak- 
cr's trade, which he followed for five years. In 
1879 he arrived in Sioux City, Iowa, and was 
engaged in steam-boating in various capacities 
for five years. He afterward spent four or five 
years at the carpenter's trade and later went 
into business for himself. He has been con- 
nected with the wholesale liquor trade for eight 
years and during all that period has been repre- 
sentative of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Com- 
pany. For six years he was located at No. 300- 
302 Eourth street, and is now carrying on busi- 
ness at No. 815-817 Fourth street, where he has 
a large establishment. He is now a member of 
the Co-operation Beer Company of Sioux City, 
which was incorporated in 1896 with the fol- 
lowing officers: Frank L. Hogan, president; 
James W. Kennedy, treasurer ; and Louis C. 
Stephens, secretary and manager. The business 
is c-a])italized for ten thousand dollars and they 
have in their employ eight men, two of whom 
are traveling salesmen upon the road, covering 
a large territory in the introdiiction and sale 
of the product to many patrons. The company 
utilizes in the business a large storage hoiise, 
store, offices and barns. 




L. f. STEPHENS. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



SSI 



In 1886 Mr. btephens was united in niiir- 
riage to Miss Mary Hutchinson, a daughter of 
Abram Hutchinson, wlio was a farmer and 
served his country as a h)yal sohlier in the 
Civil war. ]\rrs. Stephens was horn in (Cam- 
eron, Missouri, in 1861, and they now have one 
son, Jerome. 

Mr. Stephens is a Democrat and is deeply in- 
terested in the part}', yet has never been active 
as a politician, although at one time he served 
as superintendent of sewers. He belongs to the 
Sons of Herman and to the Fraternal Order 
of Eagles. He is a man of social, genial nature 
and is one whose business success is the outcome 
of his own labors. Scarcely more than seven 
years ago he l)egan operations in Sioux City 
with little capital, but by industry and strict 
attention to business he has developed an enter- 
prise of large proportions which is bringing 
to him an excellent financial return. 



GEORGE W. MURPHY, M. D. 

One of the ablest rej>resentatives of the med- 
ical fraternity in Woodbury county is Hr. 
George W. Murphy, who has successfully en- 
gaged in the practice of his chosen profession 
in Danbury since 1888. lie is a native of 
Iowa, born near Epworth in Dubuque county, 
on the 3d of Sej:)tember, 1859, and is a son of 
Patrick and Mary Katherine (Canary) Mur- 
I^hy, who claimed Ireland as the land of their 
birth. His paternal grandjiarents spent their 
entire lives in that country. The grandfather, 
who was a peddler, died at the age of fifty years, 
Ijut his wife lived to lie uiuety years old. The 
only one of their family now living besides the 
Doct(U''s father is John ilurphy, a prominent 
citizen of Caldwell county, Missouri. During 
his boyhood be went to live with a Avealthy lady, 
who provided iiim with excellent educational 
advantages, he lieing a student in the free 
schools of Kerry, Trelaml. lie taught for 
some vears and was superintendent of the 



schools of County Cork, Ireland. He is also 
a lecturer and author of note. He has reared 
a large family, all of whom are well educated. 
Our subject's maternal grandparents were very 
intelligent, well read people. They left many 
descendants but only one of their daiighters is 
now living, she being a resident of Dubuque, 
Iowa. 

Patrick ]\Iurpliy, the Doctor's father, was 
born in County Cork, Ireland, January 12, 
1825, and was reared and educated in his na- 
tive land, becoming a peddler like his father. 
In August, 1848, he emigrated to America and 
made his home in Vermont for a few years. 
He was married in Bennington, that state, Jan- 
uary 17, 1851, to iliss Mary Katherine Ca- 
nary, who was also born in Ireland, on the 28th 
of February, 1828, and came to the United 
States in 1850. After their marriage they re- 
moved to Dubuque county, Iowa, and in 1871 
took up their residence on a farm near ilenlo 
in Guthrie county, where the father still re- 
sides. The mother died February 23, 1878, 
at the age of fifty years. They left the Cath- 
(ilie ehurch in February, 1863, and became de- 
vout Priitestants. They were most estimable 
peo])le and highly respected by all who knew 
them. 

Dr. !Murphy acquired his early education in 
the common schools near his boyhood home and 
later attended Simpson College at Indianola, 
Iowa, where he was graduated in 1881 with 
the degree of Bachelor of Science. Subse- 
([uently he was ])rinripal of the public schools 
of Casey, Iowa, for two years. Having decid- 
ed to make the jiraetice of medicine his life 
work, he entered the medical department of 
the Iowa State University, and was there grad- 
uated on the 7th of March, 1888. The fol- 
lowing June he came to Danbury and has since 
prosecuted his profession at this place with 
marked success, his skill and ability having 
won for him a large and lucrative practice. 
He is M member of the "Woodbury County Med- 
ical Societv and the Iowa State ]\redical So- 



282 



PAST A\D PRESENT OF WOODBUPY COUNTY 



ciety. A physician of j)ri.)grc'i5sive ideas ami 
one well infonncd on the latest discoveries 
kno'svu to the science, lie has contributed some 
able articles to medical journals and is j^repar- 
ing others for future publication. 

On the 10th of June, 1895, Dr. Alurpliy 
married Miss Emma Seibold, a daughter of W. 
F. Seibold, one of Danbury's most respected 
and well known business men. She was liorn 
in Chatsworth, Illinois, August 12, 1870, and 
attended the public schools of that place until 
twelve years of age, when she accompanied her 
parents on their removal to Danbury, Iowa. 
Here she continued her education in the public 
schools and afterward tatight here. In 1892 
she was a student in the Iowa State K'ormal 
at Cedar Falls, and studied music at Cornell 
College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, in 1894-5. The 
Doctor and his wife have two children : Weir 
Mitchell, born April 4, 189G ; and :\rary Eliza- 
beth, born February 10, 1901. 

Dr. Murphy is a thirty-second degree Mason, 
belonging to Due Guard Lodge, No. 387, A. F. 
6: A. ]\r., of Danbnry, Iowa; Monona Chajjter, 
Xo. 115, E. A. :\r.. at Mapleton; Columbia 
Commandery, K. T. ; and El Kahir Temple of 
the ilystie Shrine, at Cedar Rapids; and for 
five years he has been master of the blue lodge. 
Although not a member of any religious denom- 
ination his views are move in accordance with 
the Catholic church. Politically he is a Re- 
publican. Pleasant and genial in manner he 
makes many friends and is jiojmlar lioth in 
social and professional circles. 



A. .M. C. THOMPSOX. 

A. ]\r. C. Thompson, who is living on section 
19, Kedron township, is a well known, popular 
and genial farmer and stock-raiser, who owns 
and conducts the Sunshine farm of one hundred 
and sixty acres. A native of Pennsylvania, he 
was born in Lawrence county, on the 5th of 
August, 1850, a son of A. W. Thompson, whose 



birth (JccurnMl in the Keystor state in 1822. 
His paternal grandfather, Archibald Thomp- 
son, was a native of Scotland and on coming 
to the United States settled in Pennsylvania, 
at which time the country was still numbered 
among the colonial possessions of Great Britain. 
Ksponsing the cause of the colonists, he became 
a soldier of the Revolutinnary war and fought 
for the independence of the nation. A. W. 
Thompson, his .son, spent the days of his l)oy- 
hoiid and youth in Pennsylvania and learned 
the carpenter's and joiner's tra<le. Later he 
began contracting on his own account and was 
identified with building interests in early man- 
hood. In 1858 he sought a home in the new 
but rapidly growing west, locating in Jackson 
county, -where he took up his abode upon a 
farm. There he lived for about foui-teen years 
and in 1872 he came to Woodbury comity, but 
he M-as not long ])ermitted to enjoy his new 
home, for bis death occurred here in 1876. 
In Pennsylvania he had married ]Miss Mary 
J. Bittner, who Avas born in Lawrence county, 
Pennsylvania, and died in Jackson county, 
Iowa, in 1859. She was the mother of four 
children : Jacob B. Thompson, who is now a 
substantial farmer of Wolf Creek township, 
and at this writing is traveling in California, 
accompanied by his wife; A. W., who died in 
Woodbury county in 1S9'.I: Alary J.; and A. 
AI. C. Thompson, of this review. 

The last named was reared in .Jackson comi- 
ty, Iowa, and attendeil the ]inblic schools. Tie 
was trained Id habits df indnsrvy and ecunnniy, 
and lessons of integrity and straightforward 
dealing were also instilled into his mind and 
havi' borne rich fruit as the years have gone 
bv. Througlidut his business career he has 
carried on agricultural jmrsuits and in 1870 
he came to Woodbury county and secured as 
a homestead claim the farm n]idn which he 
now resides. Becoming owner of one hundred 
and sixty acres, he ]ilaced this under the plow 
and developed a good farm. Lie has since 
erected a substantial residence, a commodious 



PAST AND PRESENT OP WOODBUKY COUNTY 



283 



baru and other outbuildings, lias planted an 
orchard and small fruits and also has upon his 
place a grove of ten acres. Everything about 
the farm is neat, thrifty and attractive in ap- 
pearance, being kept in excellent condition. 
The jilace is known as the Sunshine farm and 
in addition to the raising of grain Mr. Thomp- 
son devotes considerable attention to the rais- 
ing of stock. 

On the 20tli of August, 1869, Mr. Thompson 
was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Ma- 
neer, a native of Ohio, who in her early girl- 
hood days was brought to Iowa, the family 
home being established in Jackson county. 
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have been born 
seven children and the first two sons were born 
in a dugout on the farm, the primitive dwell- 
ing containing neither doors nor windows. 
They lost their first son, Chauncey. The eld- 
est living is Arthur E., who is married and fol- 
lows farming in Kedron towushij). Aaron as- 
sists in the ojJeration of the home farm. Mabel 
is the wife of Walter Coyle, of Wolf Creek 
townshiji. Koy and Bert are also at home. 
They also lost another son, Harry, who died at 
the age of three years. 

Since jDroudly casting his first presidential 
ballot for General Grant in 1868 Mr. Thomp- 
son has been a stanch Republican, never wav- 
ering in his allegiance to the party, and upon 
this ticket he was elected and served as con- 
stable, also as road commissioner and school 
director. He has likewise been township trus- 
tee and has been assessor for six years. He has 
served as a delegate to the county conventions 
and has taken an active and helpful part in 
local politics, doing all in his power to pro- 
mote the growth and insure the success of Re- 
publican principles. Fraternally he is con- 
nected with Anthon lodge, I. O. O. F., in which 
he has filled most of the positions. He is usu- 
ally kno^^'n as "Doc." Thompson among his 
many friends. He is one of the few remain 
ing homesteaders of his locality, having resided 
ujion his farm for thirty- four years. He ex- 



jjerienced the hardships and privations of fron- 
tier life, has seen great changes and has wit- 
nessed the growth of Sioux City and of Wood- 
bury county. With modern progressive ideas 
of farming he has kept apace in his business 
career and his name is a synonym for honor- 
able dealing as well as enterprising labor. 



ADOLPH J. LOEB. 



As a representative of the industrial inter- 
ests of Hornick Adolph J. Loeb is well known 
for he is engaged in conducting a blacksmith 
and wagon shop, and in the line of his chosen 
vocation he has secured a good patronage, which 
makes him a busy man. He is one of the 
useful and respected citizens of the town and 
well worthy of mention in this history of 
Woodbury county, for it is the reliable business 
men who form the real strength of every com- 
munity. 

Mr. Loeb was born on a farm in Black Hawk 
county, Iowa, in 1871, a son of Henry and 
Charlotte Louise (Glassof) Loeb. The father 
has followed farming throughout his entire life 
and now lives upon a farm near Howard, South 
Dakota, with his wife and three children. 
They were the parents of six sons and one 
daughter, but Mary died in 1902. The sons 
are Brutus, Valentine, Adolph J., George 
Charles, Augustuf and Edward. 

In the country schools Adolph J. Loeb pur- 
sued his education and on the home farm he 
became familiar with all the duties and labors 
that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, assist- 
ing his father in the work of the fields as soon 
as old enough to handle the plow. He left 
home in 1892 and began learning the trades of 
blacksmithing and wagon-making, in which he 
has become an excellent workman. He came 
to Hornick in July, 1898, and purchasing a 
shop, he has since built up a good business 
in the line of his chosen vocation. He is profi- 
cient and skillful, and his work, giving good sat- 



284 



PAST AND PHESEXT OF WOOliBURY COUNTY 



isfactioii to his jjatroii.s, has heeu thu basis of 
the success which he is imw enjoying. 

In IS'Ji oeeun-eil the marriage of Mr. Loeh 
ami Miss Anna ,M. llirchert, a daughter of 
Charles and ^Margaret ( Iluder) Hirchert. 
They have four children: Laura, ten years of 
age; "Walter, aged eight : Dunithy, a little maid- 
en of six summers; ami Anna, two years old, 
the liaby of the household. 

;Mr. Loeh is inde])endeut politically and fra- 
ternally he is connected with the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows and the ^Modern Wood- 
men of America. A life of industry and in- 
defatigable labor has resulted in winning for 
him a fair measure of success and straightfor- 
ward dealing is the basis of the esteem which 
is so uniformly accorded him in the connnunity 
in which he resides. 



JOHN PHILIP EISENTRAUT. 

John Philip Eisentraut, an architect of Sioux 
City, was born in Jackson county, Iowa, in 
1870. His father, Philip Eisentraut, was born 
in Germany and is now living in Woodbury 
county, Iowa, at the age of seventy-three years. 
He came to the United States when twenty- 
one years of age, locating first in St. Louis, 
where he followed the cooper's trade. He re- 
sided there for twelve years and then removed 
to Jackson county, Iowa, where he again worked 
at his trade, continuing at that place until 1878. 
That year witnessed his arrival in Woodbury 
county. He took up his abode in Wolf Creek 
to^^^lship, where he followed farming pursuits 
until his retirement. Coming to this country 
empty-handed he has worked his way steadily 
upward and whatever success he has achieved 
is due entirely to his own labors and careful di- 
rection of his business affairs and his unfalter- 
ing enterprise. His political allegiance is given 
to the Eepulican party and he has firm faith in 
its princijdes as containing the best elements 
of good government. His religious faith has 



long been indicated hy his nieudiership in the 
[Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, who 
bore the maiden name of Mary Stumpe, was 
born in Germany and was brought to the L'nited 
States by her j^areuts when five years of age, the 
family home being established in St. Louis. 
Her father was a merchant and carried on busi- 
ness there for some years at an early day. Airs. 
Eisentraut became a member of the Methodist 
Eiiiscopal church. Uy her marriage she was 
the mother of eleven children, of whom six are 
now living. 

Air. Eisentraut was educated in the public 
schools of Woodbtiry county and after mastering 
the elementary branches of English learning he 
matriculated in Alorningside College in 1889. 
There he pursued a classical course covering two 
years. In 1891-2 he served an apprenticeship 
in the oflice of Charles P. Brown, an architect 
of Siotix City, and in the fall of 1892 he entered 
the architectural department of the ISTorthwest- 
ern University and was graduated therefrom 
in the class of 1804. He then entered the of- 
fice of the Iowa Architectural Company 
at I)es Aroines, Iowa, as a ])artiier and re- 
niaincil with fliat house until 1902, when 
he came to Sioux City and established 
business on his own account. He has 
since enjoyed a good patronage, having otiices 
at No. 507 Aletropolitan block. He made plans 
for the Catholic church, which was erected at a 
cost of eighty thousand dollars at Boone, Iowa, 
also plans for the Baptist church at Iowa Falls, 
completed at a cost of forty thotisand dollars. 
His were the plans whereby was erected the 
courthoTise at Asheville, North Carolina, and he 
has also been the architect of a number of other 
prominent buildings in the Old North state. 
He has recently drawn jdans for the First Swe- 
dish Baptist church of Sioux City, which will 
Ix' erected at the cost of ten thousand dollars 
and he also made the plans for St. Paid's Epis- 
copal church ; the Farmers' State Bank of Os- 
mond, Nebraska, costing twenty thousand dol- 
lars ; the public school building at Tilden, Ne- 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



287 



braska, costing sixteen thousand dollars ; the 
Methodist Episcopal church at Centerville, 
Iowa, costing forty thousand dollars, and the 
^Methodist Episcopal church at Ireton, Iowa, 
costing fifteen thousand dollars. lie is a mem- 
ber of the Builders' Exchange. 

Mr. Eisentraut was married in 1894 to Miss 
Susie Kiiiffin, a daughter of Robert and Harriet 
Kniftin. She was born in Independence, Iowa, 
and by her marriage has become the mother of 
tM'O children : Vera, and Llewellyn, aged re- 
spectively nine and seven years. The parents 
are members of the Grace Methodist Episcopal 
church of Moriiingside, take a deep interest in 
its work, contribxite generously to its support 
and have promoted its welfare and upbuilding 
by their activity. In politics ]Mr. Eisentraut is 
a Republican, but the honors and emoluments 
of office have had no attraction for him, as he 
prefers to give his attention entirely to his busi- 
ness aflfairs, doing his duties of citizenship as 
a private citizen rather than as a public official. 
He is a young man of ability in his profession 
and as an architect has gained more than local 
repute. 



HARLEY M. ROUNDS. 

Harley M. Rounds, whose prominence in 
business circles in Sioux City and Rock Valley 
made him an important factor in the promotion 
of the industrial and commercial activity of the 
two places, became a resident of the former in 
18S6. He was a native of Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, born July -t, 1831, and a son of Eras- 
tus B. Rounds, who was also a native of Massa- 
chusetts. During the infancy of Harley M. 
Rounds his parents removed to Swanton Center, 
Vermont, where he resided for several years. 
The father received from his father fifty dollars 
and with this limited capital the family then 
came west, locating in Eureka, Wisconsin, 
where botb the father and mother eventually 
died. 



Harley M. Rounds was reared in Swanton 
Center and obtained a good common-school edu- 
cation there. He also spent several years with 
Ills parents in Eureka, Wisconsin. From early 
youth he disjjlayed excellent mechanical ability 
and ingenuity and his business efforts were al- 
ways directed along such lines. He also en- 
gaged in engineering in Chicago for a short 
time and afterward returned to Eureka, Wis- 
conson, where he jjurchased a sawmill and stave 
factor}-, which he oi^erated for a good many 
years. He next went to Manawa, Wisconsin, 
where he conducted a similar enterprise for 
several years and while there lie invented a new 
method for making barrel staves, upon which 
he secured a patent, but a financial panic came 
upon the country about that time and he has 
never succeeded in the nianufaetun' and sale 
of his invention. He afterward removed to 
Plainfield, Wisconsin, where he purchased a 
gristmill, and while there he got out a patent on 
a roller mill known as the Rounds Sectional 
Roller Mill. This met with popular favor be- 
cause of its utility and sujDcriority over any- 
thing of the kind before introdiiced and in its 
sale he was ^•ery successful. He engaged in the 
conduct of a gristmill at Clear Lake, Iowa, for 
four years and then removed to Sioux City, 
Iowa, where he purchased a flourmill which he 
operated for four years. In 1885 he came to 
Sioux City, where he entered into partnership 
Avith Mr. Martin and purchased a large flouring 
mill. He also built a large flouring mill in Rock 
Valley, Iowa, and lie owned and operated both 
mills up to the time of his death, carrying on 
an extensive business and placing on the market 
a product which insured him large sales be- 
cause of its high quality. He died very sud- 
denly while at his mill in Rock Valley, on the 
34th of February, 1889. 

Mr. Rounds was married, in Eureka, Wiscon- 
sin, to Miss Eliza A. Tittemore, a native of 
Canada, and unto them were born five children. 
Llattie E. is a fine artist and many specimens 
of her painting and decorated china bear testi- 



288 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



niony of her superior skill and ability in this 
direction. She is now teaching both china and 
oil painting and has a large number of students. 
Bertha E. is the wife of W. J. McGraw, a com- 
mission merchant of Sioux City. Alson W. is 
deceased. Herbert E. resides in Rock Valley, 
Iowa, and conducts the mill there. Harley S. is 
a resident of Sioux City. She and her daiigh- 
ter occupy a nice home at No. 1008 Jennings 
street, which was built by Mr. Rounds in 1886. 
Both are prominent in society circles here ana 
both are members of the ilethodist Episcopal 
church. Mr. Rounds held membership relations 
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and the Masonic lodge at Eureka, Wisconsin, 
and was the organizer of the Odd Eellows lodge 
at Rock Valley. In politics he was a Repulili- 
can, but never an office seeker. His life was ac- 
tuated by the high principles which form the 
basic element of the Odd Fellows Society, and 
in all his relations with his fellowniien he was 
just and honorable, ever courteous and consid- 
erate to those with whom he came in contact and 
not only won success, but also an honorable 



in progress in this portion of the coimtry. In 
1870 he accompanied his father on a trip to 
the Black Hills and later he made two other 
trii)s. On one occasion they were taken to 
Chester City, but were released after two weeks. 
On the 11th of May, 1887, Mr. Pecaut was 
united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Cook, a 
daughter of Erastus Cook, and they are now the 
parents of four children, of whom two died in 
infancy — Loren E. and Erwin W., being the 
surviving sons. The family are members of 
the ]\lavfl(>w('r Congregational church and Mr. 
Pecaut gives his political allegiance to the Re- 
publican party. 



EDWARD W. PECAUT. 

Edward W. Pecaut, who is filling the posi- 
tion of deputy sheriff of Woodbury county, is a 
native son of the great west, possessing the en- 
terprise and energy so characteristic of this por- 
tion of the country. He is a son of Gustave 
Pecaut, who is represented elsewhere in this 
volume. His education was acquired in the 
public schools of Covington and when eighteen 
years of age he began learning the machinist's 
trade, which he followed continuously until 
1804. In that year he was appointed deputy 
sheriff under W. C. Davenport and has since 
held the office, proving very capable, prompt 
and faithful in the discharge of his duties. He 
is quite familiar with the history of develop- 
ment in the west and indeed has been a factor 



FRANK HAAREN. 



Among the worthy citizens that the father- 
land has furnished to SioTix City is numbered 
Frank Haaren, who was born in Germany in 
1855. His father, Henry Haaren Sr., was 
also a native of Gemiany and was a farmer by 
occupation. He served his country as a soldier 
in 1866, and he was of the Catholic faith in 
his religious views. He married Eva Schmitt, 
who was l)orn in Germany and was also a 
communicant of the Catholic church. Both 
parents are now deceased. They had three 
children: Frank; Joseph, who is living in 
Germany; and Mary, who has passed away. 

Frank Haaren was educated in the common 
schools of his native land and in his youth 
worked on the farm with his father. He came 
to the United States in 18S1 when about twen- 
tv-six years of age and located in Sioux City. 
He was landlord of the Iowa House for five 
years and afterward went in business in Omaha, 
Nebraska, where he continued for a year. He 
then returned to Sioirx City, where he has since 
been located and during his residence here he 
has met with creditable success by his well di- 
rected efforts as a liquor dealer, a business 
which he has now followed for twelve years. 

In 1887 was celebrated the marriage of "Mr. 
Haaren and Miss Freda Kejul, a daughter of 




FRAXK HAAEEK 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



291 



William Kejiil, a boileriuaker. She was bcini 
in Saxony, Germany, in 18(57, and by lier mar- 
riage has become the mother of three children : 
Frank, Edward and Ai'thiir, but the second is 
now deceased. j\[r. Haaren is a member of 
the Odd Fellows society, also of the Improved 
Order of Eed Men and the Sons of Herman. 
Of the last named he has lieen iirand treasnrcr 
for six years and he has tilled all of the chairs 
in the local lodge, of which he is a charter mem- 
ber. He likewise belongs to the Germania So- 
ciety, the Bankers' Union and the Fraternal 
Order of Eagles, Aerie Xo. 77, and is a siip- 
porter of the Democracy. Tn a conntry where 
bnsiness opportnnity is limitless and where 
effort is not hampered by caste or class be has 
gradually advanced and has nmde for himself 
a creditable name and ii'aincd desirable success. 



JUDGE ('. H. LEWIS. 

Judge Charles Henry Lewis, who was for 
sixteen consecutive years judge of the fourth ju- 
dicial district of Iowa, and one of the most no- 
table and gifted members of the Iowa bar, was 
born in Collins Center, Erie county, Xew York, 
on the 17tli of October, 1839. His parents, 
Oren and Elizabeth (Nichols) Lewis, were na- 
tives of Connecticut and were descended from 
English ancestors. They removed to southern 
Wisconsin when their son Charles H. was but 
nine months old and after spending two years 
in that state went to Boone county, Illinois, 
where they remained until 1851. On the 8th 
of October of that year they became residents 
of Independence, Iowa, and three years later 
removed to Quasqueton, Buchanan county, 
Iowa, where the father remained until his 
death in 1S84. His wife ha<l died in 184:i. 

Judge Lewis S])ent iiis t>;irly life upon his 
father's farm, save that for a Itrief period he 
was ciiqiloveil in a furniture factory which his 
fatlier i'oiiduct('(l in Independence. His edu- 
cational ]n-ivileges in his youth were somewhat 



meager, bait desirous of acquiring a more com- 
jirehensive education than the public-school sys- 
tem of the state afforded, he entered Cornell 
College, at JMount Vernon, Iowa, when nineteen 
years of age. His father was in limited hnan- 
cial circumstances and therefore unable to give 
his son assistance, so that he remained in college 
during the sjiring, summer and fall terms and 
engaged in teaching through the winter months, 
his salary meeting his tuition and other ex- 
jjenses of his college course throughout the re- 
mainder of the year. He spent three years in 
this manner and then, in 1S62, left college and 
enlisted in defense of the Union cause, as a 
private soldier of Company H, Twenty-seventh 
Iowa Infantry. After a year he was made ser- 
geant major of the regiment and a year later 
was commissioned first lieutenant and adjutant 
of the regiment, Avhich position he held until 
the war closed, when the regiment was mus- 
tered out of service. He had been in the army 
for three years and five days and during all 
that time was never absent from duty except 
for three days, during which time he was on 
the sick list. 

At the close of the war Judge Lewis returned 
to his old home in Buchanan county, and for a 
short time was engaged with his brother in the 
milling and general merchandising business, but 
his taste lay in the line of the professions and 
he entered the law department of the State 
University, where he was graduated on the com- 
pletion of the regular law course in the summer 
of ISnil. Ho then removed to Cherokee, Iowa, 
and on the 2'.H\i of ^lay, of that year, entered 
into partnership with his father-in-law, H. C. 
Kellogg. They were the first lawyers of that 
county and enjoyed a very large and important 
practice. In 1870 Judge Lewis was nominated 
for the ])osition of district attorney of the 
foiirtli jndirial district <if Iowa, embracing 
twenty-two counties in the nortliwestern part 
of the state. He received a very large majority 
at the election, running far ahead of his ticket, 
anil lie entered u])on the duties of the )»osition 



292 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



Jaiuiary 1, 1870, serving in that cajiacity until 
the 1st of January, IST."!. In 1873 two coun- 
ties were dropped from the district, leaving 
twenty counties. In the summer of 1874 he 
was nominated for district judge and in the 
fall election was elected hy a most flattering 
majority, polling a much larger vote than was 
usually given the candidates of tlic purty. He 
took his seat ujjon the bench January 1, 1875, 
and there remained continuously through six- 
teen years. In 1877 the district boundaries 
were again changed, owing to the increased 
population, and the proportionate increase in 
legal business, and tlie fourth district then com- 
prised nine eouuties. In the fall of 1878 Judge 
Lewis was renominated by acclamation and 
served for two terms more, of four years each, 
being elected by increased majorities at each 
election and holding the office until January 
1, 1891. 

He won the reputation of being one of the 
best judges who has ever presided over an Iowa 
court, and in his decisions, which were ever 
strictly fair and impartial, he displayed a com- 
prehensive knorwledge of the law and great cor- 
rectness in its application to the points in liti- 
gation. He presided in the first trial of what 
was known as the Haddock case, and won the 
favorable oj^inion of all loyal and fair-minded 
citizens. He presided over nearly all of the 
hotly contested legal battles growing out of the 
temperance agitation and legislation in north- 
western Iowa and his decisions found favor 
with the great masses of the people who stood 
for law and order. His mind was analytical, 
logical and inductive. With a thoi'ough and 
comprehensive understanding of the funda- 
mental principles of tlie law, he ennibined a fa- 
miliarity with statutory law and a sober, clear 
judgment which rendered liini a strong advocate 
and safe counselor and also ranked him among 
the best judges of the state, but no matter what 
the views of the general public it is the opinion 
of the bar that counts for most in determining 
the ability of the lawyer or jurist, and Judge 



Lewis wiin higli encomiums frum his fellow 
practitioners and those who pleaded their cases 
in his court. He entered ujjon the discharge of 
liis judicial duties in the full vigor of manhood 
and through the entire j^eriod of his official 
service he wore the judicial ermine without a 
stain. On the last day before his retirement 
from the bench, the bar of Woodbury comity 
presented him with an elegant gold watch and 
chain, the former aj^propriately inscribed. The 
services on that occasion were very impressive 
and the resolutions there adopted show the 
kindly regard and esteem in which he was held 
by the lawyers of his district. The watch was 
one of the finest proditctions of the Elgin Na- 
tional Watch Company. The movement, uu 
surpassed, is enclosed in a solid gold Louis XIY 
case, with an enameled dial, and is mounted 
with diamonds and ndiies, filagree \\'ork and 
gold figures. Inside the case is the inscription 
"Presented to Hon. C. H. Lewis, judge of the 
fourth judicial district, by members of the 
Sioux City bar." Attached to the watch was 
a heavy gold chain from which hangs a plain, 
square, satin-finish gold locket, with a large 
iliamond in the center. 

After bis retirement from the bench Judge 
Lewis resnniecl tlie ]>ractice of law in Sioux 
( 'ity and had his office at Xo. .502 Toy Build- 
ing. He was a forceful speaker, clear in argu- 
ment, logical ill his deductions, and his cli- 
entage was of a distinctively r(>]u-esentative 
character. 

Judge Lewis was married [March 31, ISGti, to 
Miss Emma E. Kellogg, who is a native of Rut- 
land, Vermont, and they had four children, all 
living: Florence Gertrude, Edward Oreii, Bur- 
ton Kellogg and Ida Sophia. For more than a 
third of a century Judge Lewis made his home 
in northwestern Iowa. He never sought to 
figure prominently before the ])iiblic in any 
line outside of his ]nMfession and yet the in- 
fluence of such a man, even though i|nietly 
exerte<l, is a potent factor in the development 
of a communitv and in furthering its best in- 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY. 



293 



terests, and Judge Lewis, because of his useful 
and honorable career, enjoyed the highest re- 
gard and contidence of his fellow citizens. He 
died Sejiteniber -IG, 1904. 



FLETCHEli A. ilcCORNACK. 

The increase of business activity and the 
growth of bTisiness opi)artunity have brought 
about new conditions, which men of enterprise 
recognize and improve. The term "promoter," 
although now a common one in business jjar- 
lance, is of comparatively recent origin. It, 
however, expresses Mr. McCornack's position 
in business circles in northwestern Iowa, for he 
he has been a most active and efficient factor 
in promoting business interests, especially in 
the line of banking, and his labors have been 
of direct benefit to several communities. 

Fletcher Andrew McCornack was born in 
Tama coiinty, Iowa, December 12, 1868, his 
parents being Robert (_'. and Jane (Gordon) 
Mc(_'oruack. The father rennived from Knox 
county, Illinois, to Tama county in 186-1, and 
there followed farming for a time, while later 
he engaged in the lumber business and banking. 
He died June 1, 1896, while his widow is now 
a resident of Traei", Iowa. 

Fletcher A. ilcCornack attended school in 
Traer and in Gladbrook, Iowa, and in 1886 
went with the family to California, where he 
spent three years. After his return to Iowa he 
spent one year as a student in Iowa College, at 
Grinnell, completing his education there in 
1889. In 1891 he went to Coleridge, Nebras- 
ka, and was cmjiliiyed as cashier in the Cole- 
ridge State Bank, and in the winter of 1896 
he came to Sioux City as cashier of the Iowa 
State Bank, serving in that capacity for three 
years. In 1894 he engaged in the promotion 
of the banking Imsiness in northeastern Ne- 
In-aska and ostal)lished and became identified 
with the folldwng liaid^s: The Coleridge State 
Bank, of ( 'cileridge, Xebraska ; the Davison 
County Bank, of ^[dunt Vei'non, South Da- 



kota, and the Farmers' ISTational Bank, of 
Bridgewater, South Dakota, of all of which he 
is the president ; First National Bank, of Ilart- 
ington, Xebraska ; Laurel State Bank, of Laur- 
el, Nebraska ; and the Belden Bank, of Belden, 
Xebraska. Of these he is the vice-president, 
and he is a director of the Iowa State Xational 
Bank, of Sioux City, Iowa. His practical ex- 
perience and investigation have given him thoi- 
ough and comprehensive knowledge of the bank- 
ing business, and the institutions which he has 
organized are \-aluable enterprises of the various 
localities indicated. 

In 1894 Mr. McCornack was married to 
Miss Mary Clark, of Traer, Iowa, daughter of 
T. F. ( 'lark, a farmer and lianker. Their chil- 
dren are: Bobcrt C, born ]\Iay 19, 1898; 
Hermion, borne January 7, 1901 ; and Liicia 
Jane, born July 2, 1904. The parents are 
mendjcrs of the Congregational church, and po- 
litically ^Ir. ^IcCornack is a Rejniblican. He 
makes Sioux City his home with offices in Room 
609, Security Bank building. His banking 
intin'ests have made him widely known in this 
])()i-fion of the e<iuiitry and while bringing to 
him a desired prosperity have also been of 
prnctical benefit to different localities. 



EDWIX RUEL WHEELER, :*L I). 

Dr. Edwin Rnel Wheeler, practicing medi- 
cine in Leeds, a suburb of Sioux ( 'ity, was born 
in ^lorse, Johnson county, Iowa, ^Lircli 6, 
1881, and is a son of Dr. Hail and Mary C. 
(Ingham) Wheeler. When nineteen years of 
age the father remuved fn.im Vermont to the 
west, and after spending a year in Illinois came 
to Iowa, settling in Monona county, where he 
taught school for several years. He afterward 
married and then went to Iowa City, where he 
entered iipon the study of medicine in 1876. 
Just three days after his graduation his son, 
Dr. E. R. Wheeler, was born. 

Dr. Hail Wheeler settled for jjractice in On- 
awa, Iowa, where he remained for eleven years. 



294 



I'AST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



or until 1893, when lie caiiiu to Sioux City, 
where he has since remained in the iictive prac- 
tice of medicine and surgery. 

Edwin R. Wheeler attended the public 
schools of Onawa for three years and later con- 
tinued his education in the public schools of 
Sioux City. When seventeen years of age he 
was appointed to the position of assistant house 
physician for the yauiarifan Ildspital. In 
1808 he entered the Sioux City School of Medi- 
cine and on the completion of the regular four 
years' course was gradxuited with the class of 
1902. lie opened an otHcc in Leeds in the 
fall of that year and has since enjoyed a very 
satisfactory business, his patronage continually 
increasing as he demonstrates his ability to cope 
with disease. He has laudable ambition and 
an enterprising spirit and the ovitlook for the 
ftiturc is therefore bright and promising. 

Dr. Wheeler was married March 14, 1903, to 
Miss jSTellie Young, a daughter of E. R. Young, 
who is employed by the Iowa Telephone Com- 
pany. Socially he is connected with Reliance 
Lodge, No. 533, I. 0. O. F., and politically he 
is a Republican. In Sioux City, where he has 
lived from early boyhood, he is popular, and 
in Leeds his professional skill is demonstrating 
his right to be classed with the capable young 
members of the medical fraternitv. 



FRANK 11. PKAVKY 



The subject of this iii(igrai)liy, Fi'ank II. 
Peavey, was bm-n at Kastjiort, Elaine, January 
18, 1850, and ilii'd in Chicago, Illinois, De- 
cember 30, 1901. His father, Albert D. Peav- 
ey, was married to his mother, ^fary Drew, 
Decemlier 14, 1S4S, at East]»(irt, .Maine. His 
father died Xo\-end)er 15, 1859, lea\-ing as 
his survivors, bis widow, ^Mary I). Peavey, two 
sons, .lohn -T. and .Tames Fulton Peavey, a 
daugliter, Louise D. Peavey, imw Loui-ie 1). 
Cleland. and himself, the oldest child then 



living. His brother John J. died a few weeks 
after his father's death. 

The genealogy of the ancest(jrs of Frank II. 
Peavey and their heirs presents an interesting 
study which, at this time, space and opportu- 
nity forl)ids us to enter, btit that research fur- 
nishes evidence of the cause of the strong traits 
of character which he inherited. They and 
his iiwn ))arents were neither endowed with 
great riches nor embarrassed by poverty, and 
neither were they ]irnud wir Immble. In all 
their record and that (d' their collateral kin- 
dred, history shows that none e\'er dishonored 
the family name or dimmed its high reputa- 
tion. 

His father dying when he was but nine years 
of age, he was left in his youth to the tender 
care (jf a fond mother. At the same moment 
it left him a widowed mother and a fatherless 
sister and In-other, all looking to him as the 
one to lean ui)Ou and rest their hopes for the 
future. He was blessed with the succor, right 
training and influence of a strong maternal 
love. Through her devoted love and example 
he was taught the correct lessons of faith, duty 
and ju'ide, and in him were early implanted 
the enduring principles of conduct and the 
fixed sense of obligation which ruled his whole 
life. 

At the age of sixteen he left his home at 
Eastport, Maine, to visit an uncle in Chicago. 
This trip to him was a novelty and a de- 
light, and to his devoted mother but a visit 
to kindred, to be soon ended, and he to return 
to lii'r and finish, as she might be able, his edu- 
cation at the ind)lic schools. Before the close 
of the promised time for his return home he 
became an employe in a bank. His mother's 
fond wish for him to return met the response 
of his ]iur|iose to make his own wa\'. 

In the year 1S(17, through lucky chance, be 
proceeiled to Sionx City, Iowa, and there ac- 
ct'pteil a responsible ]iosition as bookkeei>er in 
the large wholesale grocery house of II. I). 
Pooge 1.V ('ompany. While then young and 




c^'^^^.^ -/^^ 



{ 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



297 



inexjjerienced, his honest face and great indus- 
try challenged and secured the admiration of 
his employers, and he remained for years their 
confidential bookkeeper and chief clerk. So 
his arduous and strenuous life as a business 
man conunenced at Sioux City, Iowa, in the 
spring of 1S67. 

In the year ISTt) he started in business for 
himself at the same place, as a member of the 
iirm of Booge, Smith & Peavey, engaging at 
that time in the sale of agricultural imple- 
ments and grain. After two years, while car- 
rying on a limited business, all the firm's prop- 
erty was destroyed by iire, and he left prac- 
tically penniless. He subseqTiently formed 
the partnershii) of Evans & Peavey, and they 
carried on for a time the same business, an<l 
subsequent thereto he took as a partner Colonel 
J. S. Meckling, and this firm began to deal 
in grain and operate a few elevators on the 
then Sioux (_'ity tV St. Paul Railway. It was 
then that he more fully began to secure the 
attention and interest of railroad men who soon 
learned that they needed him as much as he 
required them and their co-operation. It was 
then he formed the great firm of F. H. Peavey 
& Company, for a long time composed of Frank 
H. Peavey and E. C. !Michener, the latter a 
friend of his boyhood days. Then his business 
became exclusively a grain business, ami this 
with liis line of elevators gradually but surely 
grew under his master mind and strong hand. 
In 1S84 it assTuned such proportions that it be- 
came necessary that he should remove his head- 
quarters and his home to Minneapolis, the 
more central jioint of his cimstantly gmwing 
business, and there lie remained until his 
death. 

In ]ST1, following a desire that bail long 
lieeii in his heart since he cast his lot in his 
western home, he brouglit his indiher, sister 
and brother to Sioux City, Iowa. In August, 
1872, he married Mary I). Wright, .laughter 
of Senator George G. Wi-iglit, of Iowa. In 
that union lie also secured another father. 



mother, sister and brothers, to whom he was 
ever endeared by his maidy virtues and great 
atfection for all his worthy kindreil, and be- 
cause he was a tender knight to hi'r whom he 
had taken from that family as his companion 
for life. 

His brother, James F. Peavey, was his part- 
ner in business for a long series of years at 
Sioux City, Iowa, and subsequently moved to 
New York city, where he holds an important 
jiosition in business circles. His sister, Louise 
D. Peavey, married Jonas M. Cleland, for a 
long time a prominent lawyer and citizen of 
Sioux City, Iowa, and for the past six years 
holding a prominent position as an officer in 
the ( 'aide Company of Chicago, Illinois. There 
were born to Mr. Peavey and his wife three 
children, a daughter, Lucia L., now Mrs. 
Frank T. Heifelfinger ; a daughter, Mary Drew, 
now Mrs. Fred B. Wells, and a son, George W. 
Peavey, wdio married Miss Kate Seniple Jor- 
dan, of Cincinnati, Ohio. His sons and sons- 
in-law, some time prior to his death, became 
connected with him in the partnership of Frank 
H. Peavey & Company, and, since his death, 
have conducted the same. At the time of his 
death ~Mv. and ]\rrs. Frank T. HefFelfinger were 
blessed with three sons, and ]\[r. and j\rrs. Fred 
B. Wells with one daughter. 

His mother, Mrs. Albert D. Peavey, still 
survi\-es him, having continued her residence, 
from the time she came to Iowa in 1871 at 
Sioux City, up to the j^i'esent time. His de- 
votion to his mother was marked and was that 
born of love the purest and best. On the oc- 
casion of his freipieiit \'isits to her, away from 
busiiu'ss cares, he bestowed upon her filial de- 
votion seldom witnessed and never excelled. 

If she in her younger days extended to him, 
as she did, flie most faithful nui-ture, love and 
benign influence, in her maturer days he re- 
wardeil her by love and care which ])roved him 
a noVile son. 

His family, wii'c. eliildreu, gi'audehildren, 
sons-in-law and dauirhter-iu-law each were 



298 



PAST AND I'KESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



blessed with his companionship, a hjve, a hope, 
an inspiration, a cheery soul, a faith. To his 
wife no truer kniglit could have been more 
thoughtful, considerate, loving, and it was the 
wish of his heart to have her happy antl con- 
tented. As she was hajij^y, his own life and 
days were made hapjjier, and if she suifered 
his own heart strings received the touch and 
pang of sorrow. 

The great firm of Frank II. Peavey & Coni- 
j^any wliich he formed and built up, became 
the head of the elevator business of the world, 
and Mr. Peavey the king of the grain busi- 
ness. He was the master-builder of it, and his 
progressive spirit, matchless energy and hon- 
orable dealing had enabled him to reach this 
accomplishment. It is not needful here to re- 
cite in detail the nmgnitude of his grand btisi- 
ness, the capacity of his elevators, or the great 
steamships built by him to carry his products 
to the sea. It is su.fficient to say that the boy 
of sixteen, who left the ])arental home in lSt;7 
with such a heritage and influence back of him, 
met the struggles of life, met obstacles and 
overcame them, met the world and the great 
army of strong men and secured their conti- 
dence, esteem and good will, and in all things 
and at all times, never ceaseil to remendier 
his honor or liis duty to himself, or to hu- 
manity. 

lie did iKJt secure wealth throtigh avarice, 
or desire to mount ttp a great bank account. 
He delighted in great undertakings and the 
procurement of wealth in the pleasure it gave 
him to be a factor and leader in the business 
of the world. He loved to proctire means with 
which to bring sunshine into his family and 
to his friends, and to render charity to the 
unfortunate, the needy and the worthy. He 
believed that wealth secured thrcuigh honest 
means sliould be considerately used in helpful- 
ness, and that the lowly should bi' lifted up. 

So, in all his life, wlieii be readied the time 
M-bere he could give he daily remembered the 
friends of his vouth who hail met with adver- 



sity, and the poor around him in kindly help. 
And yet this charity was given in modesty ; it 
was daily given, and yet the Avorld knew little 
of it. How true the words of his friend and 
minister on the day of the last rites in his 
honin- : 

"If every struggling nutn and wiiman he has 
heljied could stand forth; if every young man 
he has started aright by his advice or his ex- 
ample could join the throng; if every youth 
who received his tirst good impulse from him 
could add his testimony; if the representatives 
of every good cause he has helped could speak 
— there would arise the noblest army of all, 
an army that Avould gladly hail him as chief, 
ami their gratitude and love would constitute 
his divine commission. If ever}' good deed 
that he has done could blossom forth into vis- 
ible shape, the jiathway to his tomb would be 
carpetcil with roses."' 

He loved humanity and bore no malice in his 
heart. He loved his friends, and sued for 
peace rather than continued hate. Xo man took 
a vow to injure him, who \\-as -worthy of his 
esteem, that he would not have met to plead 
for jiardon and forgiveness along the ]iath of 
honor. 

A few days belVire he passed away be left 
home for ( 'hicago, there to meet business en- 
gagements, and to j)crfiu'm a duty delightful to 
himself in selecting tokens of love feu- those 
dear to him for Christmas gifts. Exposure 
br<ing]it him to his sick bed, where he remained 
for ten days, during which every tender care 
was given him, every medical aid, nursing, and 
the greater hel])fulness of wife and children. 
In those len (lays of illness he was still the 
heroic man, strtiggling, hoj)ing for lu'alth and 
reco^'ory, and yielding submissively to every 
re([uest and treatment, cheerfitl in his sickness, 
hel]d'nl, failhfid and brave. But the disease 
bad taken sirong hold on liini, and in the pres- 
ence of his family, on the morning of De- 
cendier 80, 1901, he passed away from earth, 
life and those dear to him. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY. 



299 



By the decree divine, the reason for which 
we know not, his life passed away in the very 
climax of its use'fniuess and helpfulness. Yet 
unfalteringly and l)rave in death as in life, 
he met that hnal decree. So livins;' and so 
dying, as to him we can justly say, "Earth nev- 
er pillowed upon her Imsdui a truer person, nor 
heaven opene(l wide licr jiortals to receive a 
manlier spirit." 

Mr. Peavey laid the foundations for his 
grand success in business, and the making of 
his grand character, in his younger days from 
1867 to 188-4, while a resident of Sioux City, 
Iowa. While thereafter he achieved a still 
greater uame and greater wealth, he never 
ceased in his devotion and loyalty to the city 
in which he first nuide his western home. 
Sioux City claimed liim as one of its own, 
and while honoring him as one of its most 
public spirited citizens during the period in 
which he made that place his residence, it is 
glad now to render homage in honor of his 
good name, and reverence to his memorv. 



HOK MAraJX J. SWEELEY. 

Marlin J. Sweeley, representing Woodbury 
county in the tM'enty-ninth general assembly, 
is a native son of Iowa, his liirth having oc- 
curred in Dallas county on the 18th of De- 
cember, 1857. His parents are Samuel and 
Savila (Phillips) Sweeley, and the former a 
native of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, was 
a tailor by trade and is now living retired in 
Adel, Dallas county, Iowa. The first repre- 
sentatives of the name came from Germany to 
America and established the ancestral home of 
the family in Pennsylvania soon after the close 
of the Revolutionary war. The name was 
originally spelled Schwille, but has developed 
into its present form. The great-grandmother, 
Gotliebe Schwille, was born January 13, 1760, 
and died on the 2Sth of February, 1840, while 
her husband, Georg Sclnville, whose birth oc- 



curred September 17, 1753, passed away Sep- 
tember 12, 1820. George Sweeley, the grand- 
father, was born in Pennsylvania, and there 
spent his entire life, rearing his family of five 
children in that state. These were Samuel, 
Closes, Pliilip, Jacob and ilary. Unto Samuel 
and Savila Sweeley were born six children : 
Edward P., Marlin J., Frank L., Victor T. and 
two daughters who died in infancy. 

Marlin J. Sweeley continued his public-school 
education in the high school of his native town, 
Adel, Iowa, and afterward engaged in teaching 
in Dallas county for a year and a half. He 
pursued a course in law in the Iowa State Uni- 
versity, where he was graduated in 1S78 and 
he entered upon the practice of his chosen j^ro- 
fession in Adel in the same year, there remain- 
ing until 1885, during which time he was elected 
clerk of the coiirts and was re-elected for a sec- 
ond term, serving in all for four years. In 
January, 1885, he removed to Storm Lake, 
where he continued in practice until December, 
1890, and then came to Sioux City. From 
1888 until 1890 he had served as county attor- 
ney of Buena Vista county, and then resigned 
in order to remove to this place. For eight 
years he was attorney for the Farmers' Loan 
& Trust Company and later resigning he opened 
an office for the private practice of law, in 
which he yet continues. He has succeeded in 
his profession as the result of his unwearied 
industry, close application, careful preparation 
of cases and his strong and forceful presenta- 
tion of his case before judge or jury. 

Mr. Sweeley was married in 1879 to Miss 
Alice J. Slocunib, a daughter of Charles and 
Lydia (Vedder) Slocunib, of Albany, Illinois, 
and they have one son, Everett M., who is 
now pursuing a covirse of study in the Univer- 
sity of Michigan. Mr. Sweeley has been a 
member of the Masonic fraternity for nearly a 
quarter of a century and is also affiliated with 
the Elks lodge. He is very energetic, enter- 
prising man. with excellent Inisiness and execu- 
tive aliility as well , s professional skill. In 



PAST AND PHESKNT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



every coimuimify in which he has resided for 
any length of time he has been called to public 
office and there has been no excej^tion to this 
rule in Sioux City. He has been a prominent 
Republican since attaining his majority and 
was president of the McKinley Club in the cam- 
paign of 189t). ^n IS'Jl he was elected by a 
large majority to represent A\'(Midlniry county 
in tlie twenty-ninth general assembly and has 
been |)rominently mentioned for other offices. 
His efForts have not been a minor element in 
the gro\\'tli and success of his jiarty in this 
poi'tion of the state, nur is bis prominence lim- 
ited to ]n-ofessionaI and jmlitical circles, for 
in social life be receives the warm personal re- 
gard which arises from manliness and true no- 
liilitv of cJuiracter. 



willia:\i w. va>c dyke. 

Concentration of purjjose and persistently 
applied energy rarely fail of success in the ac- 
comiilishnient of any task however great, and 
in tracing the cancer of William W. Van Dyke 
it is plainly seen that these constitute the secret 
of liis advance in the business woi'ld. He is 
now a representative of various leading in- 
surance companies in Sioux ( 'ity and has se- 
cured a clientage whicli makes his busiu(>ss at 
once extensive and profitable. 

Mr. Van Dyke is a native son of Iowa, his 
birth having occurred in Fort ]\Iadison on the 
1st of September, ISo'.t, and is of Holland 
lineage. The family was established in Amer- 
ica at an eai-ly day and the grandfather, Wil- 
liam Van Dyke, was a farmer who spent tlie 
greater part of his life in agricultural pur- 
suits in Ulster coiinty, Pennsylvania. His 
parents, John and Sarah (Canuer) Van Dyke, 
were natives of Ulster county, Pennsylvania. 
Not long after their marriage they came to 
Iowa, driving across the country to Fort !Madi- 
son, where they arrived in Janimry, 1S.3T, in 
a pioneer epoch in ♦.he history of this state. 



The father was a cari)enfer and became actively 
identified with building interests in the locali- 
ties in \\liicli lu' made his home. In 1877 he 
became a resident of Sioux City, where he 
died at the age of sixty-four years, and his wife, 
surviving him for a long period, passed away in 
Sioux ( 'ity at the age of eighty-four years. 
They had a family of six children : William 
W. ; Henry, deceased ; ]\Iarv, the wife of D. T. 
Hedges, of Sioux City; Henry II., who was 
killed in a railroad accident ; Kate, tlie wife of 
Craig L. Wright, of Sioux City, Iowa; and 
Lizzie 11., who died at the age of three years. 

William W. Van Dyke, having acquired his 
education in the common schools, began clerk- 
ing in a dry -goods store in Keokuk, Iowa, when 
yet but a boy. From an early age, therefore, 
he has been dependent upon his own resources 
and whatever success he has achieved has come 
as tlie direct reward of his earnest, persistent 
labor. In 1860 he went to !N'ebraska City with 
a stock of dry goods and opened a store, which 
he conducted for a year. The enterjjrise was 
then removed to Plattsmouth, Xebraska, and 
at tluit tinu' ^Ir. Van Dyke retired. Soon 
afterward he went upon the Mississippi river, 
liecoming interested in navigation. In ISlil 
he was in the employ of the United States gov- 
ernment as a clerk and was also captain of a 
vessel a jjortion of the time. Xear the close 
of the Civil war he became i)art owner of a 
steamboat line operating in Mobile Bay, liut in 
1805 he sold his interest therein and again pur- 
chased an interest in a line of boats running 
from St. Louis. Missouri, to St. Paul, Minne- 
sota, llis attention was devoted to that busi- 
ness from 18fi5 until 1871. The following 
year witnessed his arrival in Sioux City, where 
he entered the employ of the firm of Tootle, 
Livingston iS: Company, acting as bookkeeper 
for two years. On the expiration of that period 
he became an employe of the firm of Hornick 
& Wall and after successive promotions eventu- 
ally became a partner in their wholesole drug 
business, with which he was connected until 




WILLIAM W. VAN DYKE. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



303 



18SS, when he sold his interest. lu the spring 
of that year he purchased the insurance busi- 
ness of Peters & Dwight and has since been 
a general insurance agent at this place, repre- 
senting a number of the old line companies. 

In 1869 Mr. Van Dyke was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Margaret M. ^lumma, a daugh- 
ter of David Mumma, of ]\Iount Carroll, Illi- 
nois, and unto them have been born two chil- 
dren, John W. and Craig D. The latter is 
teller in the Iowa State jSTational Bank. The 
former, John W. Van Dyke, D. D. S., gradu- 
ated from the iS^'orthwestcrn Dental School, of 
Chicago, and has his office in the United Bank 
building, Fifth and Jackson streets, where he 
is enjoying a lucrative practice. Mr. and Mrs. 
Van Dyke have a wide acquaintance in the 
city, which has been their home for more than 
thirty years and the circle of their friends is 
extensive. In matters pertaining to the wel- 
fare and progress of the commimity Mr. Van 
Dyke has taken an active interest and in bis 
business career has made a I'ecord which Cdm- 
mends him to the confidence and respect of his 
fellow men. 



ISAAC IIAilMOiYD METCALF. 

Isaac II. iletcalf, who is successfully en- 
gaged in farming and stock-raising in Willow 
tiiwnshij), was born on a farm in Tioga county, 
Pennsylvania, January 21, 1857, and is a son 
of Morris Pratt and Lucinda (Baker) Metcalf, 
both of whom were born near Seneca Lake, New 
York, and were of English descent. Our sub- 
ject's paternal gi*andfather was Isaac Ham- 
mond Metcalf, Sr., in whose family were seven 
children, namely: Ruliy, Mandy, Minerva, 
Moses, Marvin, Morris P. and Miles, all of 
whom are now deceased with exception of Min- 
erva and Miles. The latter is about seventy 
years of age and lives below Hornick. Miner- 
va has reached the advanced age of eighty-seven 
years. She married James Riggs, of Penn- 



sylvania, who made bis homo near Estherville, 
Iowa, until his death, and she is now living 
with her grandson Bert Brown ten miles north 
of Mr. Metcalf. Our subject's mother was also 
one of a family of seven children, three sons 
and four daiighters, all now deceased. 

The children born to Morris P. and Lucinda 
(Baker) Metcalf were William, who now makes 
his home in Scio, l^ew York; Theodore, who 
died in the army during the Civil war ; Harvey 
B., who was also a soldier and is now a resident 
of Potter county, Pennsylvania; Walter, who 
is living in Modale, Harrison county, Iowa; 
Mary, deceased wife of Benjamin Erway, by 
whom she had three children, Geoi'ge, of Mon- 
damin, Iowa, Mrs. Rosa Armstrong, who lives 
near the gulf coast in Texas, and Ida, deceased ; 
David, who makes his home in Smithland, 
Iowa; Isaac H., of this review; Eugene S., also 
a resident of Smithland; and Rosa May, wife 
of Andrew Gardner, of Lynch, JSTebraska, by 
whom she has six children, four sons and two 
daughters. 

Isaac LI. Metcalf was principally reared and 
educated in the east, pursuing his studies in 
the conmion schools of Pennsylvania. In 1874 
the parents and three children, including our 
subject, came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and 
the father took up a homestead in Willow town- 
sbi]), two miles northwest of the farm on which 
his son now resides. Throvighoiit the remain- 
der of his life he made his home in that town- 
shijj and died there in 1890. His wife survived 
him several years, passing away at Lynch, Ne- 
braska, in September, 1903. 

Throughout his active business life Isaac H. 
Metcalf has carried on farming and stock-rais- 
ing and is to-day the owner of eighty acres of 
well improved land in Willow township where 
he makes his home. For the j^ast three years 
he has stifFered considerably with rheumatism 
and on this account has left much of the work 
of the farm to his sons. 

On the 25th of February, 1884, Mr. Metcalf 
was united in marriage to Miss Alice Brown, 



304 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



who was born in 1866 and is a daughter of 
George W. and Maria (Hyland) Brown, of 
English descent. Her father served through- 
out the Civil war as a member of Company F, 
Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He 
died when Mrs. Metcalf was quite young and 
her mother subsequently married Henry Kel- 
sey. Her death occurred in May, 1899. She 
left five children besides Mrs. Metcalf, namely : 
Retta, wife of Charles Metcalf, of Holly 
Springs, this county ; Ira, a resident of Smith- 
shire, Illinois ; Carrie, who is living at the old 
home one mile east of our subject in Willow 
township; Rosa, wife of Martin Seward, of 
German City; and Perle, also on the old hoiiii> 
farm. 

Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf have four children: 
Lewis, born December 24, 1884, was educated 
in the Holly Springs school and now assists 
in the operation of the home farm. Roy Ham- 
mond, born February 21, 1887, also attende<l 
school at Holly Springs but on account of hi* 
father's health he was obliged to lose two years 
that he might aid in the work of the farm. 
During the year 1904 he operated eighty acres. 
Oliver Harrison, born September 26, 1888, is 
still in school and resides at home. Alma, born 
May 30, 1898, completes the family. The par- 
ents and older children belong to the Method isr. 
Episcopal church of Holly Springs and the 
family is one of prominence in the commun'ty 
where they reside. In his political views .Mr. 
Metcalf is a Republican and he takes an aciivo 
interest in public affairs. 



JUDSOX L. FOLLETT. 

Among the men whose life records form an 
integral part of the history of the business d.- 
velopment and substantial upbuilding of Sioux- 
City is numbered Judson L. Follett, now de- 
ceased. He was one of the pioneer lumber 
men of the city and, active and influential in 
its community affairs, he served as mayor and 



at other times bore a helpful part in promoting 
the city's progress. He arrived here in tlie 
year 1857 and, purchasing a sawmill upon the 
river, began the manufacture of lumber, in 
which he continued throughout his remaining 
days. 

Mr. Follett was a native of New York, his 
birtli having occurred in Sherburne, Chenango 
county, on the 18th of February, 1831. His 
parents, Uzziel and Fannie (Miller) Follett, 
were also natives of the Empire state and the 
father followed farming in Chenango county 
throughout his entire life. He passed away 
there in 1868 and his wife also died in the 
same county. They were the parents of three 
children, of whom Judson L. was the eldest. 
David, the second, became judge of the court 
of appeals of New York, filling that position 
at the time of his demise. Hiram, the sur- 
viving brother, resides upon the old homestead 
farm in Chenango county. 

Judson U. Follett acquired his early educa- 
tion in the common schools of his native 
county and attended the Hamilton Academy, 
at Hamilton, New York, thus acquiring a 
oY»)d knowledge of the branches of learn- 
ing that fitted him for life's practical 
duties. At the age of twenty-one years 
he began working on a farm for his aunt, 
who was a widow and resided in Chenango 
county. New York. After a few years thus 
passed he started for the west, locating first in 
the middle states, where he taught a district 
school for a few years or until 1857, when a 
])arty of land surveyors started for Iowa. Mr. 
Follett joined the party and came liy wagon 
To Woodbury county in 1S57. The following 
year he entered into partnership with k. C. 
Sanborn and they established a sawnnill on the 
river here, this being the second enterprise of 
the kind in northwestern Iowa. The business 
increased with the growth of the city and also 
because of tlio enterprising methods of the firm, 
and ultimatelv thev became owners of very ex- 



1 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



307 



tensive mills and himbei' yanls here, shijiping 
their product to many jxiints in the northwest. 
31 r. Follett eiintiniic(l in the milling business 
until his hitcr years, wlu'n he in'actieally re- 
tired, lint indolence and idleness were utterly 
foreign to his nature and, being nnable to con- 
tent himself withoitt some business interest, he 
continued to supervise his investments until 
his death, which occurred Di'cendier 27, ISHo. 

In January, ISO", ]\Ir. Follett returned to 
the east and was married, in Madison county, 
Xew York, to IMiss Viola Wickwire, a native 
of Hamilton, New York, and a daughter of 
Harvey and Orilla (Lee) Wickwire, both of 
whom were born in Hamilton comity and spent 
their entire lives there, the father engaging in 
farming on what is still knowm as the old Wick- 
wire homestead. The father died there De- 
cember !), ISt'd. Four children were born unto 
Mr. and Mrs. Follett : Fannie, who died at 
the age of four months ; Judson L., who nmr- 
ried Flora ^Nfaurer, and died February .5, 1903, 
at the age of thirty years, since which time his 
widow has married again and now resides in 
England ; !^^ary L., the wife of Richard Arm- 
strong, of Califortiia ; and David, who died 
in infancy. 

In his political views Mr. Follett was a 
stanch Republican who made a study of the is- 
sues of the day as they related to the needs of 
the people at large ami he was ever aide to su])- 
jiort his political position by intelligent argu- 
ment. In 1S65 he was elected mayor of the 
city and filled that position for one term. He 
was also supervisor for several years and his 
official duties were ever discharged in a capable 
manner. He was well kno«m throughout north- 
western Iowa as an enterprising business man, 
as a citizen whose fidelity to duty was aljove 
t|nestion and a friend whose loyalty was rec- 
ognized as one of the salient elenuMits in his 
character. Mrs. Follett is a member of the 
Unitarian church of Sioux City. She was the 
first and only woman elected a member of the 
board of education of Sioux Pitv and her elec- 



tion was a tribute to her personal worth as well 
as a public recognition of her ability. She 
owns a very large and fine residence at !No. 
1809 J^ebraska street, where she resides, and 

annually she makes trips to California to visit 
her daui;hter. 



REV. TI.MOTHY MEAGHER. 

Rev. Timothy ^leagher, jjastor of the English 
sjjeakiug Catholic church at IMnbury, Iowa, 
since 1SS3, was born at Bramblestown, in Coun- 
ty Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1854. There he spent 
his early life and his jireliminary educational 
privileges were supplemented by a course of 
study in St. Kierans College, in which he con- 
tinued until 1883, when he crossed the Atlan- 
tic and came to Danbury, Iowa. He is one 
of the oldest j^riests in northwestern Iowa to- 
day in point of service. When he accepted this 
charge he held services in four counties and 
continued to ride the circuit for several years. 
The railroad was just then being built through 
Danbury and extended only as far as ]\Iapleton. 
Dtiring the Y>ast fifteen years, however, many 
improvements have been brought about and 
the labors of the priest have been lightened. 

Father ^leagher has six hundred members in 
his church and there is a school of about two 
hundreil pujiils with six sisters in attendance. 
A good school building, a good dwelling house, 
and other buildings have been erected and the 
ehtirch property is now in excellent condition. 
Father j\[eagher is devoted to his church and 
its upbuilding. He drives over his parish, 
which comprises a large part of four townships 
in the three adjacent counties. His people 
own some of the best land and the most at- 
tractive homes in Iowa and he has awakened a 
deep interest in the church and its various 
activities and has gained for the church a gen- 
eroiTS support from many of its parishioners. 

Father Meagher is a son of Daniel and Ellen 
(Delaney) ^Meagher, both of whoni spent their 



308 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



entire lives in Ireland. They left three sons 
and five daughters. His brother. Patrick, and 
sister, Margaret, eame to America in 1866. 
Patrick married in Chicago and :\largaret in 
St. Louis. 



HENIiY PvKINHAET. 

Henry Reinhart, now deceased, was for many 
years prominent in financial circles in Wood- 
bury county. He was born in Germany Sep- 
tember 10, 1838, and was a son of Christian 
and Christiana Reinhart, who came to the Unit- 
ed States in 1847, locating first in Lee county, 
Hlinois, but both are now deceased. 

Henry Reinhart spent the first nine years 
of his life in the fatherland and then accom- 
panied his parents to the new world. He pur- 
sued his education in the common schools of 
Lee county and afterward removed to Sac coun- 
ty, Iowa, in 1877. There he engaged in farm- 
ing and stock-raising, placing his land imder 
a high state of cultivation, so that his fields 
annually returned to him good harvests that 
brought to him a desirable income. As a stock- 
dealer he was also prosperous and kept good 
grades of cattle. In 1880 he removed to Sioux 
City, where he carried on business as a stock 
commission merchant at the stockyards. Later 
he erected the Reinhart flats and in more re- 
cent years he devoted his attention solely to the 
supervision of his property interests, the in- 
come therefrom giving him all of the comforts 
and many of the luxuries of life. 

In 1858 Mr. Reinhart was united in mar- 
riage to ]\Iiss Martha Hudsell, a daughter of 
Conrad and Elizabeth Hudsell. She was born 
in Germany and came to the United States in 
1846, the family home being established in 
Lee county, Illinois, where her father s]ient his 
remaining days, passing away in 1857. His 
widow still survives him and is now eighty-six 
vears of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reinhart 
were born seven children, namely: Catherine, 



the wife of John Fucsh, who resides in Sac 
county, Iowa; Christiana, the wife of George 
Stephen of Sac county, Elizabeth, the wife of 
George Beizer, whose home is in Lake City, 
Iowa ; John, who is married and lives in Sac 
county ; Charles, who is married and makes 
his home in the same county; Anna, the wife 
of James Turner, of Sioux City; and Oscar, 
who is employed as teller in the First jSTational 
Bank of Sioux City. 

While residing in Sac county, Iowa, IMr. 
Reinhart served as supervisor for two terms. 
He gave his political allegiance to the Democ- 
racy, kept well informed on the questions and 
issues of the day and when in ofiice was most 
loyal to the trust reposed in him, but he always 
preferred to do his duty to his county and assist 
as a private citizen rather than a public official. 
He was a self-made man and one whose life 
history proved the value and force of energy 
and enterprise in the active affairs of life. He 
jiossessed sound judgment which enabled him to 
make judicious investment in real estate and, 
owing to the growth and development of the 
northwest his pi-operty increased in value and 
brought to him an excellent income so that he 
became numbered among the capitalists of 
Woodbury county. He passed away in 1897 
rcsjiected by all who knew him and he left to 
his family the priceless heritage of an untar- 
nished name as well as valuable realty posses- 
sions. His widow, Mrs. Martha Reinhart, is 
now living at Xo. 81 o Sixth street in Sioux 
Citv. 



A. K. Mr.MAXUS. 



a native of ISTew York, re- 
Madison (•(iniity, Wisconsin, in his 
1 davs and in lss<i came to Sioux City, 
le is now cniiaiicd in the insurance busi- 



A. E. McManus 

moved to 

iHiyho.Hl , 
will 



ness at Xo. :50i) Fourth street, representing 
manv of the old and relialilc companies. He 
lias eomniodioiis offices there and is a very busy 




HENRY REINHART. 




MRS. lilAETHA KEINHART. 



PAST AXD PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



313 



man, but is always courteous and affable. He 
represents both the fire and life insurance com- 
panies and lias been very successful in his busi- 
ness career in this citv. 



GEORGE KARL WIXGELAXD. 

George K. Wingeland, who became a resident 
of Sioux City about 1870, was numbered among 
its early settlers conducting business here along 
enterprising lines that lead to success, and he 
became a large property owner. He manife.-t- 
ed in his life those sterling traits of character 
Avhich ever command respect, and it is therefore 
meet that his history be given in this voluntf. 
He was born near the village of Tolgren, in 
Norway, June 17, 1828. His parents spent 
their entire lives in ISTorway, where the fathei" 
followed the occupation of farming througliout 
his business career. 

George K. Wingeland acquired only a liiii 
ited education, attending the common schools of 
his native country. He was, however, a dee]! 
and earnest student of the Bible and becanin 
thoroughly informed concerning holy writ. In 
1846 a party was organized to come to America 
and Mr. Wingeland joined the colony. He was 
then eighteen years of age, of ambitious nature, 
strong determination and energy. Landing in 
INTew York city, he made his way westward and 
established his home in Galena, Hlinois, Init 
only resided there for a short period. Subse- 
quently lie went to Alabama, where he began 
work on a plantation for a wealthy widow in 
whose emidoy he remained as a common laborer 
for two years. He then returned to the north 
and settled in Jancsville, Wisconsin, where he 
learned the tailnr's trade, wliieli he followed 
in that city and also in small tnwns in that 
portion of Wisconsin for several years. On 
the expiration of that period he came to the 
west, settling in Winnebago county, Towa, 
where he secured a homestead farm just six 
miles from Forest City. Taking u]i his abode 



upon that place he there engaged in general 
agricultural pursuits for several years. In the 
meantime Imsiness interests called him to Sioux 
City and forming an attachment for the place 
he decided to remove from his farm and take 
up his abode in the county seat, which he did 
in 1870. He secured employment with a tailor 
and afterward opened a shop of his own, be- 
coming one of the leading tailors of the city. 
His business gradually increased until it had 
reached extensive and jjrofltable proportions, 
and through his energy, capable management 
and earnest desire to please his customers Mr. 
Wingeland secured a large patronage. He con- 
tinued to engage in tailoring for several years 
and at the same time, as his financial resources 
increased, he in\ested in real estate until he 
owned property in many jiai'ts of Sioux City. 
In 1893 he retired altogether from tailoring 
and gave his attention to the supervision of 
his property interests until his death. 

Mr. Wingeland was twice married. His first 
wife died in Sioux City, leaving three children, 
ilrs. Joseijhine Xyhus, a resident of Calumet, 
[Michigan ; Mrs. Emma Johnson, who resides 
at Park River, North Dakota ; and Henry, now 
deceased, who was a prominent resident of 
Sioux City, holding the position of city engi- 
neer and other municipal positions. For his 
second wife Mr. Wingeland chose Mrs. Frances 
L. Crooker, who was born in Onondaga county, 
Xew York. Her parents always made their 
home in that county and both are now deceased. 
Her father was connected with the salt industry 
of the Empire state. By her former husband 
Mrs. Wingeland had one daughter, Mrs. C. F. 
Bush, who is a widow and has an office as 
general stenographer in the North West Bank 
building. In addition to being an expert sten- 
ographer Mrs. Bush is accomplished in music 
and speaks Spanish and German. 

Mr. Wingeland departed this life June 8, 
1901. He never cared for political office, but 
was a stanch advocate of Republican principles. 
A deep thinker and extensive reader he became 



314 



I'AST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



well iiitnrim'i] mi all ilic ipK'stioiifi of I he ilay, 
iwlitical and otherwise, and was well known 
as a prominent and influential resident of Sion\ 
City, resjiected for jiis personal -worth and be- 
cause of what he aceoni])lisluMl in the Imsiness 
world. His widow still owns i-onsidcralile 
property in Sioux City, which is rented and 
she and her daniihter, ]\[rs. Bush, reside at Xo. 
41 fi West Third street, where sh" owns an at- 
tractive honn'. 



CLARENCE A. KNAPP. 

The held of bnsiness is limitless, its prizes 
are many, and yet comjjaratively few who enter 
the "worhrs hmad tidd of hattlc" cmne off 
victors in the struggle for success and pi-onii- 
nence. This is usually due to one or more of 
several causes — su[ierficial preparation, lack of 
close application <.>r an nnwist' chi.)icc in select- 
ing an a\-ocation for which one is titled. The 
reverse of all this has entered into the success 
and prominence which Mr. Knapp has gained 
as a representative of mercantile interests. H.i^ 
natural talent has led him ont of hnmhle snr 
roundings into large successes through the oi)- 
portunity that is the pride of our American 
life. 

Mr. Knapp was horn in (ireen l^ay, Wis- 
consin, in 1S4(1. Ilis father, William A. 
Knapp, was a native u{ New York and hecanie 
a hardware merchant in Wisconsin, settling 
in that state during the ])ioneer epoch in its 
history. He arrived there in 1834 and estab- 
lished his home at Green Bay, whci-e for many 
years he was an active factor in biisiness cir- 
cles, conducting a successfnl mercantile enter- 
prise. In 1SS3 he retired to private life and 
lived in Fond dn Lac, Wisccnisin, nji to the 
time of his demise, in ]\[arch, 1!I04. He had 
been prominent and influential in pnblic af- 
fairs and had been accorded leadership by 
those who, recognizing his ability, selected 
him for important pnblic positions. He repre- 



sented Winnebagii connty in ISti.J and 1S6C in 
the state legislatiire and put forth effective 
effort to advance the welfare of his commnnily 
and the commonwealth at large. He was a 
member of the Congregational church. His 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Lucinda 
A. Gilbert, is also decea.sed. They were the 
jiarents of five children, four of whom are liv- 
ing: Clarence A.; Gaines A., who is cashier 
of the Eond du Lac Xational Bank at Fond 
dn Lac, Wisconsin; Frank A., who is inter- 
ested in real estate and mining oijerations in 
Portland, Oregon: and ilinnie, at home. 

In his early Ixiyhood days ( 'larence A. 
Knaj)]! enjoyed the advantages afforded l)y the 
j)nblic schools of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and later 
he s])ent a short time as a student in Lawrence 
University at Appleton, Wisconsin. He en- 
tercil upon his business career as a salcsnum in 
a hardware stnre in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 
where he remained until isCiS. Ambitious 
to engage in mercantile pursuits on his own 
account, he then removed to Xorthwood, Iowa, 
where he openi'il a hardware store, condTicring 
his enft'r|irisc with good success until 18S1, 
when lie bci-ame a wholesale and retail hard- 
ware merchant of Oskaloosa, Iowa, his con- 
nection with the commercial interests of that 
city Covering a ]ieriod of six years. In the 
meantiine. in isS.'i, the Knajip \- .Spahling 
CouLpany was organize<l at Oskaloosa for the 
pnrjiose of engaging in the wholesale harl- 
warc Imsiness and in 1887 they removed their 
stock to Sioux City. The paid-up capital and 
surjilus of the company amounts to three hn-,i 
dred and tifty thousand dollars. The (U'iginal 
com]iany was formed of Clarence \. Knap]', 
who was ]»resident and treasurer, and Edwin C. 
Spalding, ^'ice-president and secretary. In 
ISOS 'Slv. S]ialding retired from the firm and 
the corporate name was changed to the Knapp 
iS: Spencer Company, with Clarence A. Knapp 
as president ; H. L. Spencer, vice-president ; 
W. S. Knapp, second vice-president ; W. H. 
Preston, treasurer; ami C. E. Hughson,' secre- 



PAST AND PRESIi:NT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



317 



tary. The building occupied by the company 
extends for one hundred feet on Xebraska 
.street and one hundred and fifty feet on Third 
street. It is six stories in height with base- 
ment and covers an area of ten thousand five 
liundred stuun-e feet of floor space. The strnc- 
true was Imilt of St. Louis brick and is one 
of the handsomest business blocks of the city. 
The firm employs fifty people, including fifteen 
salesmen who represent the company on the 
road, intri)dncing and selling its goods into 
western Inwa, the nortliern half (if Xebraska, 
Wyoming. South Dakota, and soiitlnvestern 
Minnesota. The comjiany dot's a wholesale 
business in hardwai'e, metals, stoves, cutler*' 
and sjKU'ting goods ami its <mtput is now ^'cry 
extensi\-e. ^\v. Kna])]i has just reason 1'p oe 
prond of the fact tliat to his efiorts can largely 
be traced tiie upbuilding of a substantial ei:ler- 
jirise which is of im|)ortance to Sioux ('iiy, 
contributing to the commercial prosjierity 
whereon the welfare of everv city depends. 

In 187(1 occurred the nnirriage of .Mr. 
Kna])p ami ^liss Sarah Elizabeth Sewell, a 
dauahter of .Tolin Sewell, a dry-goods mer- 
chant of Foml (lit Lac, Wisconsin. She is a 
memlier of the (Amgregatioiml churi'li and like 
her husband' shares in the friendship and re- 
gard of many of the leading citizens of Wood- 
binw county. I'nto theni were born five chil- 
dren, but oidy two are living: Walter Sewell, 
who is now the treasurer of the Knapp & 
Spencer Company; and Marguerite, at home, 
ilr. Knapp is a member of the ilasonic fra- 
ternity and is a Republican in his political 
views. XTo citizen is more thoroughly repre- 
sentative or more devoted to the promotion of 
the welfare of Sioux City than is !Mr. Knapji, 
who has taken a jirominent part in local af- 
fairs. Progressive and enterprising, his means 
and influence have been used toward advancing 
movements and interests for the upbuilding 
and progress of what is now one of the most 
flourishing metropolitan centers in this section 
of the coinitrv. In view of the fact that he 



commenced his business career empty-handed, 
his success is the more remarkable, and his 
record shotdd pro\-i' an inspiration to nuiny a 
yotnig man on starting out as be did a few 
years ago with no cajiital save brains, integrity, 
determination and jierseverance — which, after 
all, constitute the bi'st cajiital and without 
which wealth, influence and position amount to 
nausiht. 



LEOXARL) B. ROBIXSOX. 

Among the younger members of the Sioux 
City bar Leonard B. Robinson has gained pres- 
tige that ju'omises well for the fnture and al- 
ready he is accorded a clientage that connects 
him with much of the imi")ortant litigation tried 
in the courts of his district. A native son of 
Iowa, he was born at Storm Lake, in 1873. His 
father. Judge Gifford S. Robinson, formerly 
chief justice of the supreme court of Iowa, is 
represented elsewhere in this volume. When he 
had completed his early education by a high 
school course in his natiA'e city, he entered the 
State Eniversity, at Iowa ( 'ity, and was grad- 
mited from the ctillegiate de]iartment in 1894 
and from the law dejiartment iit 18il."i. 

In the same year ,Mr. Robinson entered upon 
the practice of his chosen j^rofession in con- 
nection with W^illiam Milchrist, the relation 
being maintained until January, 1898. He 
s])ent all of that and the succeeding year in 
Central America, and in January, 1900, entered 
into ]iartnershi]i with his father, but after a 
short time this was dissolved. Judge Robinson 
being ap]iointed a member of the board of con- 
trol of the state institutions of Iowa. Leonard 
13. Robinson then practiced alone until Febru- 
ary, 1902, at which time he formed a partner- 
ship with James T. McVay, which continued 
for two years. He is a general practitioner, 
with a good knowledge of the various depart- 
ments of law, and his careful preparation of 
coses, his strength in argtimcnt and his clear and 



31S 



I'AST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



eoueise preseiitatiiui of his eause before the 
court are the salient elements in the success 
which is now crowning his efforts. 

Mr. liohinson was married in April, 1902, 
to Cora Wheelock. a daughter of George F. and 
Emma (Coverly) Wheelock. She was born in 
Boston and they i\ow have one child, Harlan 
Coverly Robinson. Mv. Robinson is a Repub- 
lican in his political athliation and he belongs to 
a law fraternity — the Phi Delta Phi. In the 
line of his profession he is connected with the 
Sioux City Bar Association and the Iowa State 
Bar Association. He has developed that type of 
character which nmkes for higher ethical ideals 
in business and in society, and in Sioux City is 
accorded a position of prominence in the public 
reaard. 



I. a:\ip.max ^"iciioLS. 

Lampman Xichols, a retired farmer who for 
many years was engaged in the tilling of the 
soil, but is now resting from further active 
business cares in a comfortable home in Sioux 
City, was born in Henrysville, Canada East, 
April 11, 183S, a son of AYillard Xichols and 
Eleanor (Lampman) Xichols. The father, a 
native of Vermont, went to Canada in his boy- 
hood days, and eventually became a farmer and 
proprietor of a general store. He died in Can- 
ada, ^fay 25, lS(i4, and his wife passed away 
in Woodbury county, Iowa. June 3, 1875. 

In his youth Lampman Xichols attended the 
common schools and afterward woi-ked for his 
father imtil seventeen years of age, when he 
crossed the border into the United States to 
enjoy the better advantages of this country with 
its livelier competition and advancement more 
quickly secured. He went to Minnesota, where 
he took up eighty acres of land, but finding no 
sale for his pi'oducts lie sold his farm and 
learned the trades of a bricklayer, plasterer 
and stonemason. About 1858 he removed to 
Cresco, Howard countv, Iowa, wliore he worked 



at the mason's trade until ISOT, when he came 
to Sioux City and here continued in the same 
line of business. Prior to this time his mother 
had come to Woodbury county with her son 
Slocuni and took up a homestead of eighty 
acres, and wlicn Lampman Xichols arrived he 
settled upon his mother's farm and carried on 
its cultivation until his mother's death. In 
ISTO) he went to Colorado, where he opened a 
meat market, but not finding that business con- 
genial he returned to Iowa in 1877, where he 
again worked at his trade until 18i)8, when he 
retired to private life and is now occupying a 
comfortable home in Leeds that stands upon a 
part of his mother's original homestead. 

At the time of the Civil war Mr. Xichols re- 
sponded to the country's call for aid, enlisting 
as a member of Company B, Xineteenth Wis- 
consin Infantry, btit after waiting ninety days 
to be mustered in he was discharged on ac- 
count of illness, which he incurred by being 
stationed in damp, unhealthy quarters. 

(^n the Sth of June, 1862, Mr. X'ichols was 
married to iliss Maranda Elmer, a daughter 
of David Elmer, of Harvard, ^[cHenry county. 
Illinois, where he eavried ou farming. Unto 
ilr. and ^Irs. Xichols have been born four 
children: Henry V... born June 23, 1864, in 
Winneshiek county, Iowa, was married about 
1887 to ^riss Leah Holloway, of Sioux City, 
by whom he has three children, and lie is now a 
machinist of St. Paul, Minnesota. Harriet, 
liorn September 4, 1865, in Winneshiek county, 
is now in business in Chicago. Eva R., born 
in Sioux City. January 3. 1869, died Jime 28, 
1891. George L., born ifarch 21, 1873, at 
Sioux City, married Miss [Maranda Dicus and 
is a machinist of ilinneapolis, ^linnesota. 

^Tr. Xichols and his family attend the ]Meth- 
odist church and in his political belief he is a 
Republican, having long supported the princi- 
ples of that party. His life has been an indus- 
trious one, and persistent labor, year after year, 
at length brought to him the capital that now 
enabli>s him to live retired. He feel? that he 




-MI!. AND MKS'. LAMPMAX XICHOLS. 



PAST AXn riJHSKNT OK WOODBTEY COlXTV 



321 



made IK) luistakc in chaiiiiiiii;' his place of resi- 
dence from Canada to the United States, and 
this country has no more loyal citizen than this 
adi)]iteil sun (if Woodbury enunty. 



WILLIAM HAKRISOX ADAMS. 

One of the most prominent and influential 
citizens of Smithland is the gentleman whose 
name introduces this sketch, lie takes an ae- 
tiye and leading part in local politics and has 
three times been honored with the ofhce of 
mayor of the village. J^ever were the reins ol 
city government in more capable hands, for he 
is a progressive man, pre-eminently jjuhlic- 
spirited, and all that pertains to the ])uhlic wel- 
fare receives his hearty endorsement. 

Mr. Adams was born in Boone county, In- 
diana, on the 11th of December, 1813, and is a 
representative of a very old and prominent fam- 
ily of Woodbui'y county. His father, Elijah 
Adams, was boi'u June 15, 1811, in Nicholas 
county, Kentucky, and there grew to manhood. 
In early life he went to Indiana, where he was 
married on the 15tli of February, 1837, to Miss 
Rebecca Buntin, who was born in Xicholas 
county, Kentucky, May C, 1811, and made that 
her home until nineteen 3'ears of age. After 
their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Adams continued 
to reside in Indiana until 1841, when they re- 
moved to Rock Island coiinty, Illinois, and in 
1856 came to Woodbury county, Iowa, arriving 
here in the spring of that year. The year pre- 
vious the father had come to the county and 
decided to locate in Oto township, where he 
subsequently ptirchased six hundred and forty 
acres of land. Throughout his active business 
life he was extensively engaged in stock-raising 
and took one hundred and twenty-five head of 
cattle from Rock Island to this county on his re- 
moval to this place. On coming to Woodbury 
coimty he also brought with him eleven yoke 
of oxen and seven horses and five wagons, in 
which were conveyed his household goods and 



farm implements. He also had a hei'd of fine 
graded cattle and two thorough-bred shorthorn 
Durham bulls. Later he brought to the county 
several Percheron stallions and probably did 
more to improve the grade of stock in this coun- 
ty than any (ither one man. He was very pro- 
gressive and public-spirited and was a liberal 
supporter of all enterprises fur the general good 
of the community. He built the first frame 
schiKilhouse ill Smithland in LS59 and one in 
Correctionville the following year. He also 
built the first jdank bridge across the west fork 
of the Little Sioux in 1857 and another across 
the same stream at Climbing Hill in 1858. He 
was one of the first school directors in his dis- 
trict and served as supervisor of his township 
fnim lS<il until 18fi'.l, imdusive, being one of 
the members of the first board of supervisors. 
He died on the 22d of September, 1889, honored 
and respected by all who knew him. His wife 
passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. 
Palmer Hall, in Oto township, December 20, 
1900. Their lives were mostly passed on the 
frontier in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and 
Iowa, and they were here during the "'hard 
winter" of 1856-7, at which time Mr. Adams 
lost fifty-six head of cattle. In their family 
were four children: Elizabeth J., born October 
9, 1839, is now Mrs. Palmer Hall; James W., 
born May 21, 1811. is a resident f.f Smithland, 
Iowa ; William H. is the next of the family ; 
and G. Elijah, born ifay 28, 1852, is repre- 
sented on another page of this volume. The 
father was one of a family of eight children, 
the others being John, Whitney, Joseph B., 
Samuel, Orville, ilary E. and Hannah. His 
mother was a Riley and was of Irish descent, 
but little is known of the early ancestry of the 
family. The father's name was Ephraim 
Adams. He was of English extraction and 
was a resident of Kentucky, as were also his 
wife's people, several of whom \vere killed by 
the Indians. 

William H. Adams was twelve years of age 
on the removal of the family to this county and 



322 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



he aided in the anhiuus task nf eiiUivating and 
improving the new farni. During his hoyhood 
he hauled saw logs to mill and has pi'obably 
broken more virgin soil than any other man in 
Little Sioux township, four or hve yoke of oxen 
being hitched to the breaking plow. In 1856-7 
he and his brother Wallace became intimately 
acquainted with Ink-i)a-du-tah and his band of 
Indians, who committed the Spirit Lake mas- 
sacre in April of the latter year. During the 
Civil war he enlisted in Company K, Seventh 
Iowa Cavalry, and remained in the service un- 
til hostilities ceased in 1S66, mostly fighting 
the Indians in the northwest. 

While home on a furlough ]Mr. Adams was 
married ilarch 20, 1865, to Miss Helen Joseph- 
ine Smith, a daughter of Orrin B. Smith. They 
had become acquainted wlieu he was a boy of 
twelve and she a girl of eight years and the 
friendship then formed ripened into love as 
they grew older. Desiring a better education 
Mrs. Adams continued to attend school for a 
time after their marriage. They liave become 
tlie parents i)f tliree children: Ernest ]M., the 
eldest, was born July 4, 1867, and i^ursued a 
four years' course iu the medical department 
of the Michigan L^niversity at Ann Arbor, being 
now engaged in tlie ]iractice of his chosen pro- 
fession at Augusta, Wisconsin. Vernie Estelle, 
born September 8, ISl)!), is now the wife of Er- 
nest AY. Foster and lives at Pleasant Valley, 
Saskatchawan territory, Canada. They have 
five children : Harrison Lafayette, born Decem- 
ber 16, 1892; Earl W., July 28, 1894: Ernest 
Marion, ]\lareh 7, 1896: Glenn Ernest. July i, 
1899 ; and Alda Marie, January 6, 1902. ]Mr. 
Foster's father, Lycurgus Foster, came to Wood- 
bury county, Iowa, in 1858 and is still living 
at Sergeant Bluff. Orrin Elijah, our subject's 
youngest child, was boi'u Xovember 16, 1881, 
attended the common schools of this county and 
later was graduated fi-om the high school at the 
age of sixteen. He is a very great student and 
has a liright future. At the age of twenty-one 
he entered the United States government service 



and is now gunner's mate on a torpedo boat 
destroyer, the Whijiple, at Pensacola, Florida, 
having two more years to serve. 

.N[r. Adams is quite prominent and influential 
in public affairs and served as super\-isor of 
Little Sioux to^vnship from 1890 to 1895 in- 
clusive and was one of the first school directors 
of his district. He was three times chosen jus- 
tice of the peace. Three times he was elected 
mayor of Smithland and was defeated at the 
spring election of 1904 by only four votes. He 
is popular with all classes and by his many 
friends is familiarly known as Harry Adams. 
He has ever been an active political worker and 
his opinions carry weight in the councils ui his 
party. Mr. Adams is a man of athletic build, 
having a large, well knit frame. Although pos- 
sessing the physical strength and a willing 
wrestler, he is a man of peaceful tendencies and 
was never in but one fight, at which time he was 
ci impelled to defend himself against one of the 
most noted frontier bullies. This oceiirred at 
the old fairground at Sioux City, where both 
nu-n were exhibiting stock, and their (puirrel 
grew out of that fact. Fisher, the noted bully, 
was a giant ilesperado who boasted of having 
licked one hundred men and everybody feared 
him. He was always looking for a fight, was 
"cock of the walk" and imposed on all, but he 
tried his domineering tactics once too often, 
^fr. Adams saw no reason to be afraid of him 
and proceeded to defend himself from the start, 
giving the bully an unmercifiil thrashing in very 
quick time. It was a hard fight, both being de- 
termined to win, and it is said that the only dif- 
ference between the men at the end of the fight 
was that Mr. Adams walked off the ground and 
Fisher was carried off. 

]\Ir. Adams has been a memlier of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights 
of Pythias fraternity, and has the regard of his 
brethren of these organizations. That his bnsi- 
ness affairs have been well managed is shown 
liv the fact that he is now the o-mier of three 
bund ml and twentv acres of land in Little 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WUODBUliY CUUXTY 



333 



Sioux and Oto townships, comprising some of 
the best farming \i\iid to he found in Iowa. He 
has now leased his farm, however, and is liv- 
ing in Smithland, where in 1901 he erected a 
lieantifnl and comnKidinns twostorv residence. 



GEOKGE W. P>i;()WX, JR. 

He who studies the signs of the times, not- 
ing the business conditions and the incrt.'asing 
complexity of trade relations, can not but be 
impressed by the fact that the young man or 
woman who enters the business world and 
wishes to succeed must be well eipiipped for 
his work with broad and thorough imderstand- 
ing of business principles. The call is con- 
tinually being made for capable employes, and 
this has led to the establishment of business 
schools and colleges, wherein the people who 
expect to become factors in business life may 
receive practical training therefor. In many 
sections of the country such schools have sjn'uug 
up and there is none of this character in Iowa 
more reliable or doing more efficient work than 
Brown's Business College of Sioux City. 

Professor BroAvn, Avho stands at the head of 
the institution and in his educational work ex- 
hibits the enterprising, progressive spirit so 
characteristic of the middle west, was born in 
Fulton county, Illinois, in 1867, his parents 
being Charles I. and Mary E. (Ogle) Bro'wu. 
The former, a native of Lodi Center, New 
York, was a representative of an old New Jer- 
sey family. Throughout the greater part of 
his life he followed farming, and his death oc- 
curred in April, 1901, at the age of sixty-two 
years. His widow, who belonged to an old 
Xew England family, is still living, and by 
her marriage she had nine children, seven of 
whom survive. 

George W. Brown, Jr., the ehlest, had but 
limited o])portunity to attend the public schools 
and in ISsfi he entered the elacksonville Busi- 
ness College, at Jacksonville, Illinois, and ]>ur- 



sued normal courses of study. He began teach- 
ing in Peoria, Ilinois, in 1888 — in Brown's 
Business College — in which for five years he 
was instructor in bookkeeping and penmanship. 
He was then promoted to the position of prin- 
cipal of Brown's Ottawa College, where he con- 
tinued \intil 1899, when he came to Sioux City 
and began the promotion of Brown's Business 
College here. Brown's College opened with an 
enrollment of one hundred and eighty and there 
are now five hundred students in annual at- 
tendance. The school is the private property 
(if G. \V. Brown, Jr., and occupies the entire 
second floor of the Xew England building. 
The management of this college rests with the 
proprietor, who has had great success as a 
teacher of the commercial branches during the 
past sixteen years. He received a diploma and 
honorable mention from the World's Columbian 
Exposition in Chicago in 189?.. A number of 
his students had sets of books, penmanship, 
typewriting, etc., on exhibition at Chicago, and 
he also had a number of students in the Model 
Business (College or Active Exhibit of the 
American Btisiness Colleges in Chicago, in 
1893. The instruction and discipline of Pro- 
fessor Brown's school are luider his immediate 
supervision and he is assisted by experienced 
and successful teachers. His wife has been 
an important factor in the iipbuilding of the 
college and now has charge of the shorthand 
and typewriting department. The equipment 
of the school, the schoolroom facilities, the in- 
striu'tors in charge, the plan of the courses of 
study, and the methods are all chosen success- 
fully and carefully selected with one single 
high purpose in view — to train and develop the 
young pciiple into compel ent nifice workers 
within the shortest time possible. Professor 
P>rown is a member of the National Federation 
of Teachers' Association ; also an active meui- 
lier of the Central Teachers' Association and 
a member of the executive committee of the 
latter, while his wife is an active memlier of 



324 



PAST AND I'KESILNT O I'" WOODBL IIY LOUXTY 



the National Gregg Slidriliainl Tt'iirluTs" A>:-i'- 
eiation. 

In 1892 Professor Bniwii was married to 
Miss Jeuiiie K. Yates, a daughter of .raiiies 1'. 
Yates, of Pekiii, Illinois, and thev have tliree 
children: Lmiis P., James \'. and .1. Adah. 
The parents hold mendler^^hip in the First ('ou- 
gregatioual cluireh and ^Ir. Hrown holds mem- 
bership relations with the Modern Woodmen of 
America. In citizenship, in idmreh and sneial 
relations, in business and ]iri\ate life, lie is 
actuated h.v h<in<>ralile ])rineiides. worthv mo- 
tives and a deeii sense of conseientious (ibliga- 
tion, and his life therefore has been such as 
to command uniform ailmiratidu aii<l esteem. 



OLIVER J. MOORE. 

Oliver J. ]Moore, who during the twelve years 
of his residence in Sioux City has become a 
foremost factor in commercial affairs and is 
also prominent in trade circles in tliis jioriiuu 
of the coiintrv, was liurn in St. Peter, .^lln- 
nesota, October ^(i, ISii'.i. Ills jiarents Avere 
Charles E. and Anna ( 3Iagncr ) Moore, boili 
iif whom -AW now residents of Siou.x ( 'ity. 
The father is a stonemason bv trade and has 
followed that pursuit throughout an active 
business career. 

"\^Tien nine years of age 01i\er d. ]\ioore ac- 
companic<l his |iarents on their removal to Xc- 
braska and when thirteen years of age he be- 
came a student in Craighton College, at Oma- 
ha, Xebraska. where he ])ursupil a three 
years' course. When his si'ho<il days \\ere 
over he entereil the service of the Ihir- 
lington iV ^lissoiiri Railroad Coiniiany, 
with which he was connected until 1S8!), when 
he went to Chicago, securing employment in 
the packing house of Xelsou ^I orris, with 
whom he continued until 1S'.I2. 

In that year ^Ir. ^[oore came to Sioux City, 
where he has since made his home. Here he 
entered the wholesale iirocerv house of C. 



Shenkberg Com])any, at a nomimil salary, but 
he soon proved his \aliie, and his capability 
Won ready recognition in rapid promotion Tintil 
at the end of three years he was secretary of 
the comi)auy, v.-liich was incorporated under 
the name of the C. Shcidxberg Company. ^Fr. 
^l<iore is also general manager, and under his 
control tlie business has rapidly develoi^ed, this 
being now the largest grocery house in Iowa, 
co\rring three and a half acres of floor space. 
.Mr. Moore is also the treasurer of the Lind- 
liolm Fnrnittire Comi)any, of Sioux City, and 
he is one of the executive committee of the 
Wholesale Grocery Association of Iowa and 
Xebraska. 

)ore was married on the 2d of Octo- 
to :Miss Hannah ( '. Wall, a daugh- 
ter of -Tames P. AVall, who is represented on 
another page of this voliune. They have six 
children, three sons and three daughters, the 
eldest, Lncile Eulalia, being eleven years of 
age. while the youngest is less than six months 
ohl at this writing in September, 1904. The 
parents are members of the Catholic church 
and .Mr. iloore belongs to the Elks Lodge, the 
Sioux ('ity Poat Club and the Commercial 
i 'lull, and is chairman of the transportation 
committee. He stands to-day prominent in 
social an<l commercial circles of the city, a 
typical .\merican man of the enterprising 
west, whose progressive spirit has led to large 
acconi|ilishment and gratifying result. 



:\lr. .Mo 
her. IS'iL', 



ORRTX P. SMITH. 



Iowa owes its high standing among the sove- 
reign commonwealths that make np the United 
States to the high character and daimtless spirit 
of the settlers who made their homes within her 
borders in the early days. To their inspiration 
and work is due the wonderful progress that has 
been nnide along all lines. Among the brave 
and far-sighted pioneers who aided in opening 
n|i Woodbtirv county to civilization is numbered 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



387 



Orrin B. Smith, the founder of Smithland and 
its first postmaster. 

Mr. Smith was born in Cattaraugus county, 
Jfew York, on the 11th of AjDril, 1816, and was 
of Irish and Welsh desccnl, wliilc some Dutcli 
blood also flowed through his veins. Before 
leaving New York, he was married in 1840 to 
Miss Celia Bragg, who was of Welsh extraction, 
and to them were born three children. Lovisa, 
the eldest, was born October 22, 1840, and died 
March 24, 1893. She was married in Febru- 
ary, 1856, to Charles Cobb, theirs being the first 
wedding among the white peoi^le celebrated in 
Smithland. Geraldine, the next younger, was 
born October 14, 1842. Castana (Celia) was 
born in 1844 and died in infancy. For his 
second wife Mr. Smith married Genevieve 
BoAver, liy whom he had nine children : Helen 
J., born March 20, 1848, is now the wife of 
William H. Adams, who is rejjresented on an- 
other page of this volume ; (^hloe T. was born 
November 24, 1849 ; Orrin E., born August 
29, 1851, served as sheriff of Eock county, Ne- 
braska, for ten consecutive years and was able 
to throw any man of his size; Celia, born in 
1853, died at the age of six months; Frank T. 
was born in 1857 ; Patience was born March 
24, 1859, and died January 2, 1892 ; Hugh and 
Washington are also deceased; and Alice, born 
August 7, 1866, is now Mrs. Gividen and lives 
in Onawa, Iowa. The mother of these children 
died July 1, 1868, and the father was afterward 
married twice but had no children by those 
unions. 

Before coming to Iowa ]Mr. Smith lived for 
a time in Lake county, Illinois, and in the 
spring of 1852 went to Council Bhiifs. In the 
fall of 1852 he first visited the present site of 
Smithland with his brother Edwin ^I. Smith 
and a Mr. Hurley, on a hunting expedition. 
Two miles north he came upon the home of Cur- 
tis Lamm, now a resident of Grundy Center, 
Grundy county, Iowa, and he also came across 
the homes of W. S. White and J. Siimner, who 
were Mormons but had left the followers of 



Jcisejih Smith at Council Hlufi's as they did not 
believe in polygamy. Mr. Lamm was the first 
permanent white settler in the county except a 
few Frenchmen wjio had Indian wives. He was 
born in Indiana, November 10, 1818, and from 
that state rejnoved to Wisconsin, where he was 
married February 15, 1843, to Nancy M. Ly- 
can, who was born in Clark county, Illinois, 
June 17, 1825. In 1850 they arrived in Kanes- 
villc or Council Bluffs, where the Mormons had 
stojjpcd on their way from Nauvoo in 1847. In 
January, 1851, Mr. Lamm, in company with a 
comjianion, Holden, came up the Little Sioux 
river and took uj) a claim two miles north of 
Smithland, Avhich he made his permanent home. 
In August, 1904, ^Iv. Lamm, his wife and 
daughter, [Mrs. I. T. ^lartin, of Des Moines, 
attended the Old Settlers' jiicnic at Smithland, 
and visited his old home. He is now eighty-six 
and she is seventy-nine years old. In April, 
1851, Mr. Lamm started for Woodbury county 
with his family, arriving there in May. Mr. 
Lamm located his claim two miles Jiorth of 
Smithland, May 5, 1851, and erected thereon 
a log cabin. The next to locate in this region 
was Eli Lee, our subject's brother-in-law, who 
arrived here in February, 1853. In 1856 fever 
and ague became quite prevalent in this locality 
and Mr. Lamm removed to Sioux City. He is 
now eighty-si.x and his wife seventy-nine years 
of age. In those early days wild game of all 
kinds was lalentiful and as many as two hundred 
elk were seen in one drove. In course of his 
lifetime Mr. Smith killed over one thousand 
deer here and elsewhere. There were many 
\\ild turkeys and also semi-wild hogs. On this 
first hunting trip he bought a claim from a 
Morniini and in the s]iring of 1853 he removed 
his family to it. Tlie town of Smithland stands 
u]ion this claim. 

In 1854 Mr. Smith first surveyed and platted 
the toA\Ti of Smithland but did not have the plat 
filed, and the following year it was resurveyed 
and the plat recorded. Dr. Rice was elected 
the first mayor and ^fr. Smith was ajipointed 



328 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUPY COUNTY 



the first postmaster on the ostaMislnnent of the 
office at this place in 1855. The first sermon 
preached in the town was in ^Ir. Smitli's cabin 
in the fall of that year by Rev. 1 ). J . Havens, 
a Methodist Ej^iscopal minister, who used tlie 
kitchen table as a desk. Later Rev. Havens 
married the widow of Hiram Smith, who was 
killed by falling on the saw in the first sawmill 
erected in Little Sionx townshij). Upon the 
j)resent site of Smithland onr subject erected 
in 1856 the first fine large l)arn Ijiiilt of lumber 
in the township or fur uiauy miles aroiiml, ami 
it was dedicated in- a dance which began in 
the evening and lasted nntil noon of the follow- 
ing day and at which all of the early settlers 
were present, both old and young. This barn 
was torn down in August, l'J04. 

On the 1st of August, 185;}, WoodburN 
county was organized with twenty-four town- 
ships and that year seventeen votes were 
polled. Orrin B. Smith was elected the first 
prosecuting attorney ; Eli Lee, coroner ; Curtis 
Lamm, justice of the peace ; and Edwin M. 
Smith, constable. The county seat was then 
called Sergeant liluff or Floyds Bluff. Our 
subject was a westei'u nnin in the true sense of 
that term, was ready for a fight or a fortune, to 
attend church and do good. His was a typical 
pioneer home, where the latch-string was al- 
ways out and a friend or stranger alawys found 
a hearty welcome. He was open-hearted and 
generotis, always ready to aid those in neecl, 
though not a member of any church. He was 
strictly honorable in all his dealings, contracted 
no debts, incurred no mortgages and gave all 
men their due. He was somewhat of a rover 
and traveleil (pnte I'.xtensively. He lived in the 
town of Newport, Nebraska, for a time and also 
at Stuart, that state, and twice went to Pike's 
Peak, but did not take his family, the last trip 
being made in May, 1860. Tn 1892 and 18!t8 
he visited Florida and died at Plant City, near 
Tampa, on the 11th of November, of the latter 
year, honored and res])ected by all who knew 
bini. 



RUDOLPH SELZER. 

Rudolph Selzer, the pioneer brewer of Sioux 
City and the founder of what is still one of 
the leading industrial (•nt('r[)rises of the city, 
long figured in business circles here, and was 
widely known for his reliability as well as his 
energy and laudable ambition. He was born 
in Geissen, Germany, Sunday, September 28, 
1828, was reared in that country and in early 
life became a student in a university there, in 
which he studied theology, his grandfather in- 
tending him for the ministry, but after his 
grandfather's death he abandoned the idea of 
entering the church in order to take up a busi- 
ness career. 

Mr. Selzer was married in Germany to Miss 
Theresa Wasser and in 1853 they came to the 
United States, residing for a brief period in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after which they 
ri'uioved to Rock Island, Illinois, in the spring 
of 1851:. In early life Mr. Selzer had learned 
the shoemaker's trade and he followed that pur- 
suit in Pennsylvania, in Illinois and after his 
removal to Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1857. In 
1858 ho became a resident of Omaha, Nebras- 
ka, where he was associated with Fred Krug in 
the establishment of what was known as the 
Fred Krug Brewery, ]\lr. Selzer furnishing 
the cajiital while ]\lr. Krug supplied the ex- 
perience, being a practical brewer. Tiiey be- 
gan riperations on a small scale, under the firm 
style of Krug & Selzer, and the extent of their 
early o])erations is indicated by the fact that 
iliey delivered their product from a wheelbar- 
row. This was the first brewery in Omaha. ^ 
The business, however, rajfidly increased and 
itecame a profitable investment. In 1860 Mr. 
Selzer sold his interest to Mr. Krng and came 
to Sioux City, where the same year he estab- 
lished the first bewery of this place, on Fourth 
street, between Iowa and Court streets, but later 
moved to the corner of Ninth and Douglas 
streets, his previous experience in Omaha quali- 
fying him for the successful eondtict of a simi- 
lar enterprise. His trade rapidly increased 




KUDOLPH SELZER. 




CHARLES SELZER. 



PAST AXD PRP]SEXT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



333 



and for about twenty-two years he carried on 
a profitable business, but the jirohibition law 
of Iowa went into effect in 1883, forcing him 
to close out his business with considerable loss. 
He had, however, acquired a very desirable 
cona2ietence in former years and from this time 
he lived priictically r('tire<l from active busi- 
ness life. 

Unto Mr. and ilrs. Selzer were born four 
sons and one daughter: Charles, Louis, Otto, 
Fritz and Emma, all of whom are mentioned 
elsewhere in this volume. The sons Charles, 
Louis and Otto became their father's successors 
in business, while Fritz is a dealer in fine horses 
of Sioux City. lie married Anna Bourett and 
they reside at 905 Douglas avenue. 

ilr. Selzer was a mendier of Landmark 
Lodge, K^o. 103, A. F. cV- A. ^SL, and had the 
regard of his brethren of the fraternity, because 
of his spirit of brotherly kindness and helpful- 
ness, which is the basic element of the order. 
He died July 11, IS'.lS, at the age of sixty- 
nine years, and his widow, surviving him sev- 
eral years, made her home with her children 
tmtil her death, which occurred June -1, 1903, 
when she was seventy-eight years of age. 



CHAIILES SELZER. 



Charles Selzer, who is extensively and suc- 
cessfully engaged in a wholesale liquor busi- 
ness and is numbered among the representatives 
of those controlling productive industries in 
Sioux City, was born in Rock Island, Illinois, 
Tuesday, August 28, 1855, a son of Rudolph 
and Theresa Seizor, who are mentioned on an- 
other page of this volume. He was about six 
years of age when his jiarents removed to Sioux 
City and here he was reared, attending the pub- 
lic schools and later becoming a student in St. 
Benedict's College, at Atchison, Kansas. When 
his education was com]ileted he returned to 
Sioux ( 'ity and entered upon his business career 
as an emnlove in his father's brewerv. He aft- 



erward secured employment in Hearncourt's 
brewery at Cincinnati, Ohio, and subsequently 
in Lemp's brewey, at St. Louis, Missouri, thus 
gaining a thorough knowledge of the business 
in every department. He then returned to 
Sioux City and assumed full control of the 
i.ijieratiou of liis father's brewing plant as fore- 
man and continued in that position until the 
])roliibition law went into eft'eet in Iowa. In 
1887 he established a wholesale business in 
Covington, Nebraska, just across the river from 
Sioux City, in connection with his brothers 
Otto and Louis, conducting their enterprise 
there until after the mulct law was passed, 
when they returned to Sioux City and opened 
the pi-esent wholesale and retail business under 
the firm name of Selzer Brothers. In the 
meantime Louis Selzer had died and Otto and 
Charles Selzer were then partners, this relatio i 
being maintained until the death of Otto Selzer, 
on the Kith of .March, 1904. Charles Selzer 
has since lieen alone in business. He handles 
all kinds of liquors, doing both a wholesale and 
retail business, and the wholesale territory cov- 
ers ^Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and 
Iowa. Employment is furnished twelve men 
and Mr. Selzer is agent for Christian Moerlein 
of Cincinnati, William J. Lemp of St. Louis, 
and the Sioux City Brewing Company. The 
business is located at Nos. 312 and 314 Pierce 
street, where ^here is a frontage of fifty feet, 
while the lot extends back to a depth of one 
hundred and fifty feet. On this ground a 
three-stoi'v brick building has been erected and 
the entire structure is utilized in carrying on 
the business. There is a bowling alley on the 
second floor and rectifying and wholesale liq- 
uers on the third floor. 

On the 10th of Decend>er, 187^, Mr. Selzer 
was unitecl in marriage to Miss Anna Josephine 
Lessenich, whose parents are mentioned else- 
where in this volume. Three children have 
been born untu Mr. and Mrs. Selzer: J. Ru- 
dolph, born July Ifi, 1879, is his father's as- 
sistant and bookkeejier in the wholesale house. 



334 



I'AST AND I'HESKXT OF \\0( )| )i;il!Y COUNTY 



He married iServia Leaiider, uf Sioux City, and 
they reside at the corner of Market and Twelfth 
streets. Mary C, born August 7, 1882, is the 
wife of C. A. Koouz, formerly of Burlington, 
Iowa, and now manager of the cigar depart- 
ment of the wholesale house of Howell, Pratt 
& Warfield, of Sioux City. They have one son, 
Charles, born in September, 1903, and they 
reside at l\o. 410 Twelfth street. George C., 
born June 18, 1889, is a student in the high 
school, a member of the class of 1905. Mrs. 
Charles Selzer was born in Geneseo, Illinois, 
and her father is J. J. Lessenich, proprietor of 
the Chicago House of Sioux City. 

In his political affiliation Charles Selzer is 
a stalwart Deiuocrat and has served as alder- 
man of Sioux City for three years, being elected 
to succeed his brother Louis upon the latter's 
death. He is quite ])ri:iminent in fraternal and 
social circles of the city, belonging to the Sons 
of Herman, the Elks Lodge and the Germania 
Club. He is also a member of the Krieger 
Verein and the German ]Maennerchor and in 
all of these organizations he has won the warm 
regard and friendship of many with whom he 
has come in contact. He is a man of business 
ability and marked enterprise and having a 
thorough understaiidini; nf his business is so 
conducting it as to make it a profitable invest- 
ment. 



alsu i)ursued a course in the commercial col- 
lege here, being thereby well fitted for the 
duties that devolved upon him when he entered 
rlie employ of his father in the capacity of book- 
keeper. Later he became associated with his 
brothers, Charles and Otto, in the wholesale 
liquor business and the association remained a 
HKist harmonious one up to the time of his 
death. They developed their enterprise along 
modern business lines, enlarging their facilities 
to nu'ct the growing demands of the trade and 
liuilt u|i an extensive and profitable business, 
while in trade circles the house sustained an 
enviable reputation for straightforward dealing. 

In 1894 Louis Selzer was married to Miss 
Emma Lessenich at Sioux City, and they had 
one child, Louise, who was born in 1896. 

Two months prior to his death Louis Selzer 
was elected to the position of alderman from 
the fourth ward. He was a stanch Democrat 
in his ]iolitical views, and was recognized as 
one of the local leaders in his party. His in- 
terest in the city was deep and sincere, and he 
and his brothers ever favored the ]U'0gressive 
measures which had for their object the substan- 
tial uplmilding of the city of their residence. 
Louis Selzer, in the midst of an active and suc- 
cessful business career, died in lS9(i. 



LOUIS SELZKR. 



Louis Selzer, the youngest of the three broth- 
ers who constituted the well-known firm of 
Selzer Brothers, lu'ewers ami wholesale li(pior 
dealers of Sioux City, was born Sunday, March 
1, 1863, his parents being Rudolph and Ther- 
esa Selzer, natives of Germany. Emigating 
to America, the father became the pioneer 
brewer of Omaha, Nebraska, and of Sioux City 
and was living here at the time of the birth 
of his son Louis. The latter, reared under the 
parental roof, attended the public schools and 



OTTO SELZER. 

Otto Selzer, whose tragic death on Wednes- 
day evening, March 16, 1904, caused wide- 
spread regret among his many friends in SioTix 
City, was well known in business circles of 
northwestern Iowa and other sections of the 
west, and in social life had gained warm re- 
gard and esteem in the city in which he had 
long made his home. He was born in Sioux 
City in July, I860, and attended the public 
schools, liut when only a boy he went abroad 
and studied the brewing business in Germany, 
where are located the best plants of the kind in 
the world. He put forth every effort to gain 




OTTO SKLZl'i!. 




LOUIS SELZER. 



PAST AND i'K'ESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUJv'TY 



339 



a practieal and accurate knowlc'dge of the busi- 
ness and returned to Sioux City an expert 
maltster. His father, many years before, had 
established a brewery here, and Otto Selzer 
became a partner in the enterprise, the firm 
of Selzer Brothers being organized at this time, 
the partners being Charles, Louis and Otto 
Selzer. Ho was verj- active in the control 
of the business up to the time of his death and 
introdiiced various improvements with which 
he had become familiar during his stay in Ger- 
many. He was progressive in all that he did 
and his labors proved a valued factor in the 
successful conduct of the business. During the 
period when the prohibition law was in effect 
in the state business was carried on in Coving- 
ton, Nebraska, and after the passage of the 
mulct law was again established in Sioux City. 

On the evening of March 16, lUU-i, about 
seven o'clock, Mr. Selzer was conversing in 
the oiEce with his brother Charles. He had 
just come in from a drive and had not yet 
removed his (l^•ercoat. Noticing that the elec- 
tric light had not been turned on he stepped 
back into the engine room to investigate and 
found that the belt was off the shaft. Evi- 
dently he attempted to replace it and his over- 
coat was caught by the flywheel. It was whirl- 
ing at a rate of twelve hvmdred revolutions per 
mintite, driven by a twenty-horse power engine. 
Mr. Selzer was drawn in hy the wheel and 
dragged around many times, death resulting 
from the accident. The funeral was held at 
the family home, 905 Douglas avenue, the serv- 
ice being conducted by Rev. J. D. O. Powers, 
of the Unitarian church, and the interment was 
made in Floyd cemetery. 

Otto Selzer was a member of the Order of 
Eagles and of the various German societies of 
the city. The funeral was conducted by the 
Order of Eagles, over two hundred being in 
line in a procession headed by Reed's band. 
It was one of the largest funeral procession? 
ever seen in Sioux City for ^Nfr. Selzer was 
popular and had a very extensive circle of 



friends, who felt the deepest regret at his un- 
timely death. 



CHARLES F. HOYT. 

Charles Franklin Hoyt, tii whose enterprise 
and business sagacity Siotix City owes much of 
its commercial growth and activity, was a capi- 
talist whose success was attributable to his own 
efforts. He took up his abode here in 1871 and 
from that time figured prominently in public 
affairs bearing close connection with the city's 
progress. He was born November 13, 1842, in 
McDonough county, Illinois, upon a farm be- 
tween Colchester and Tennessee. His parents 
were Jonathan and Betsey (Rowley) Hoyt. His 
grandfather also bore the name of Tonathan 
and both he and his son Jonathan Hoyt, Jr., 
were natives of New Hamjjshire, the latter 
being born in ISOS. The former was noted for 
his great strength and often gave exhibitions of 
his jjrowess at the gatherings of the state militia 
l)y lifting and carrying great weights. He 
married ^liss Jemima Ford, who like her hus- 
band was probably of English lineage. Their 
son Jonathan, reared to manhood in New 
Hampshire, was married after attaining his 
majority to Miss Elizabeth Rowley, whose birth 
occurred in Syracuse, New York, in 1819. 
They became residents of Illinois and Charles 
F. Hoyt was reared upon the home farm there, 
assisting in the labors of field and meadow 
through the summer months, while in the win- 
ter seasons he attended the public schools. At- 
tracted by the reports concerning the rich min- 
eral districts of Idaho he went to that state 
with two companions and as they took turns in 
driving the team each walked two-thirds of the 
entire distance. Mr. Hoyt devoted three years 
to prospecting and mining in Idaho and Mon- 
tana and became noted for his ability in find- 
ing his way over the rocky snow-capped moun- 
tains of that region. He only met with fair 
sticcess in his search for gold, but he spent three 



340 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



years in traveling and during that period lie 
learned the art of photography. Arriving in 
Sioux City in 1871 he was afterward closely 
identified with its business aifairs, to the benefit 
of the city as well as of self. He entered into 
a partnership with J. 11. Hamilton and for four 
years conducted a ])liiitiigrapliic gallery. On 
the expiration of that perioil he turned his at- 
tention to the manufacture of vinegar and 
pickling materials and conducted the enterprise 
with excellent success until 1890, being the 
founder of the Sioux City Vinegar & Pickling 
Works. Seeing a favorable opening for the es- 
tablishment of a brick and tile factory he 
founded a busines-s of tliat character and 1)C- 
canie president of the Sioux City Brick \- Tile 
Works and also the ])resi(h'nt of the Sioux City 
Stoneware Works. Quick to recognize a busi- 
ness oi)i:)ortunity and utilizing the means at 
hand he became a very ]u-oniinent factor in in- 
dustrial circles. He was tlie jn-esident of the 
Sioux City Paving Prick ( 'onipany and thus 
was connected with the placing of many home 
products upon the market. He also dealt ex- 
tensively in real estate ancl had large landed 
holdings in Kansas. I )uring his later years he 
controlled many important real-estate negotia- 
tions and he laid out four of the best additions 
to Sioux City — Highland, Springdale, Edge- 
wood Terrace and North Riverside. In 1897, 
however, he put aside business cares and lived 
in the enjoyment of a well earned rest up to 
the time of his death. 

^Ir. Hoyt was united in marriage to .Mrs. 
Martha (Harris) (Joldic, who was born in Ba- 
tavia, jSTew York, December 31, 183(1, a daugh- 
ter of William and Sarah (I'dills) Harris, both 
of whom were natives of England, and they 
came to America in early life, locating first 
in Xew York city, wliei-e Mr. Harris engaged 
in the retail shoe business for a few years. 
He afterward removed to Batavia, ]!^ew York, 
where he conducted business until his death. 
His wife dieil in ( 'alifornia. There were six 
children born unto I\[r. and Mrs. Hovt : 



Charles L., who is engaged in the electrical busi- 
ness in Chicago; Frank A., a dentist of Low- 
den, Iowa ; Martha L., the wife of Wesley L. 
Smith, county attorney of Onawa, Iowa ; Har- 
ry, who resides at home with his mother and 
is employed in the freight office of the Chicago 
i: Xorthwestern Railroad Company in Sioux 
City; Edna M., at home; and Ealpii, who died 
at the age of six months. 

ilr. Hoyt was prominent in public atfairs 
and his influence was ever given on the side of 
progress, reform and improvement. He was 
elected to fill otit an unexpired term as mayor 
and was then chosen for a full term. He was 
also alderman from the third ward for more 
than six years, elected on the Democratic ticket. 
He took a very active and helpful interest in 
politics as a supjjorter of the Democracy and 
his patriotism and his loyalty to the general wel- 
fare were numbered among his salient charac- 
teristics. He belonged to the Independent Or- 
der of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias 
lodge of Sioux City and was a most kindheart- 
ed, benevolent man, his generosity prompting 
iiim to aid nuiny an unfortunate one on the 
journey of life. He died January 12, 1899. 
The salient traits of his character were such as 
coninieuded jiiui to the confidence and good will 
of all with wliom be came in contact and Sioux 
( 'ity numbered him among her prominent and 
\alued rejiresentatives. His widow, who is a 
niember of the Congregational church of Sioux 
( 'ity and has uuuiy warm friends here, no'w re- 
sides at the old Ixime at Xo. nn.-> Pierce street. 
She has recently sold mmdi of her pro]ierty, 
however, and intends to spend several months 
in California, but will return aiul make Sioux 
Citv her home. 



POBERT GOLDIE. 



Robert Goldie, active and influential in the 
business circles of Sioux City, became one of 
tiie earlv settlers of Woodburv conntv, where 



PAST AXD PKESEXT OP WOODBURY COUNTY 



341 



he took up his abode iu 1S5T. He established 
the first bakery here and from that time until 
his death was closely connected with commer- 
cial interests. A native of Scotland, he was 
a son of James Goldie, who always resided in 
Scotland, where he was employed in cotton 
mills throughout the greater part of his life. 
Robert Goldie acquired his education in the 
schools of his native country and when a young 
man emigrated to America, locating first in 
^lilwaukee, Wisconsin, where he learned the 
baker's trade. He was thus employed for a few 
years and subsequently he went to Racine, Wis- 
consin, where he began btisiness on his own ac- 
count. He was projirietor of one of the larg- 
est bakeries of that city and he conducted an 
extensive business while there. 

During his residence in Milwatikee Mr. Gol- 
die was married to Miss Martha Harris, who 
is now the widow of Charles !F. Hoyt, of Sioux 
City, and mention of her i:)arents is made in 
connection with the preceding sketch of Mr. 
Hoyt. There were six children born unto ]\[r. 
ami Mrs. Goldie: Helen S., the wife of H. 
M. Waldo, a resident of California; James 
William, who in partnership with his brother 
is engaged in the retail shoe business in Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa ; Wallace R., who married and 
is in partnership with his Ijrother in Cedar 
Rapids ; Charlotte S., the widow of Charles E. 
Ruggles, who is represented elsewhere in this 
volume ; Flora S., the wife of George Sinclair, 
the cashier of the Woodljury County Savings 
Bank of Sioux City ; and one child tliat died 
tmnamed in infancy. 

After his marriage Mr. Croldie engaged in 
liusiness in Racine, Wisconsin, until 1857, 
when he came to Sioux City, where he estab- 
lished the first bakery here. Success attended 
the enterprise from the beginning and he con- 
tinued in business for more than twenty years, 
or until his death. He died here July 5, 1878. 
Socially he was connected with the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows and in his political views 
lie was a Republican. He prospered in his 



undertakings and he also belonged to that class 
of representative American men, who, while 
promoting their individual interests, also ad- 
vance the general welfare. He is yet remem- 
bered by many of the early residents of this 
place as a man whom to know was to respect 
and honor. 



I). E. KERBY. 



1). E. Kerby, alderman of the second ward 
of Sioux City, was born at Lawler, Chickasaw 
comity, Iowa, IMay 9, 1868. He is the son o± 
Daniel R. and Ellen (Rochford) Kerby. Botli 
of his parents M-ere born in Ireland. In 1855 
they settled in Chickasaw county, Iowa, where 
the father was engaged in farming for many 
years. Later he conducted a general store and 
in 1876 opened a bank in Lawler. The family 
moved to Sioux (_'ity iu 1888. 

1). E. Kerby is one of ten children, nine of 
whom are living. He attended the public 
school and Catholic school in Lawler, after 
which he took the commercial course in St. 
Joseph's College, Dtibuque, having been gradu- 
ated in 1885. He spent three years in his fa- 
ther's bank as cashier and in 1888 he came 
to Sioux ('ity tn represent his father in the 
firm of Kerby \' Lynch which had built up 
an extensive loan and insurance business. In 
18!) 6 Mr. Kerby succeeded his father as a 
member of the firm, the latter having retired 
from business. 

January 7, 1807, he was married to ^[iss 
Sarah Jordan, who had been a successful teach- 
er in the schools of Sioux City. Four children 
have l)een born to them. 

^Ir. Kerby is a public-spirited man. He has 
been active in the Democratic organizations of 
Sioux City and Woodbury county. He was 
elected alderman from the second ward in 
A])ril, 1904, having overcome a normal Repub- 
lican majority of two hundred and fifty. He is 
ejiairman of the auditing and fii-e department 



342 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



committees and is a member of the committee 
on streets, alleys, bridges, waterworks, health, 
light and printing. Mr. Kerby is a Catholic 
and is always actively interested in affairs 
which interest the Catholics of the city. He 
is a Knight of Colnmbns and a member of the 
Catholic Order of Foresters and Woodmen of 
the "World. 



EMILIE E. KAUCll, M. D. 

Dr. Emilie E. Kauch, who since her gradua- 
tion from the Sioux City College of Medicine 
with the class of 1903, has been engaged in prac- 
tice in the county seat, was born in Ehiiovt-, 
Wisconsin, December 9, 1S63, her iKivciits lu- 
ing Theodore and Elizabeth (Dnmni) Kauch. 
Mr. Eauch came with his fatiier from .\ni- 
stadt, Schwartzburg SoiidersliMUscn in Thurin- 
gen, Germany, on board sail boat ".Matha." 
July -1:, 1844, and after residing for many 
Years in AVisconsin removed to IJonboiiimc 
county. South Dakota. H(> had bccouie a 
resident of the Badger state when only twelve 
years of age, and throughout his business ca- 
reer he has followed farming, taking u]> a 
homestead claim in South Dakota in 1^7'.', after 
which he transformed it into a good farm, lie 
was also an artist, numifesting considerable 
merit in portrait work, and he liad a brother, 
Gnenther Eancli, who posses-^cd high artistic 
talent. He was well known in Wisconsin, 
where he died December !>, ISliS. Also an- 
other brother, Friderich, who was a composer 
of distinction. In the family of Theo<lore and 
Elizabeth Eanch were twelve i-hi!dren, two ,4 
whom are now deceased. 

Dr. Eauch, in early girlhood, attended the 
country schools of Wisconsin, and at tlie age 
of sixteen years accompanied her ]iarents to 
South Dakota, after wliich she attt'uded school 
at Yankton for about a year. She afterward 
taught in the district schools until twenty-one 
years of age, at which time she took up a ]n-e- 



emption claim from the government of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres in Faulk county. After 
living on the claim for six months she proved it 
up by paying a dollar and a quarter per acre, 
after which she continued to teach school until 
coming to Sioux City in 1890. 

Here she pursued a commercial course in the 
business college and then accepted a position in 
the F. Hansen drug store, in which she re- 
inained until ISltT. She then entered the Sioux 
Citv College of Medicine, was graduated in 
I'.Mi:; and began the i)ractice of her profession 
in Sidux City, where she has been very success- 
ful, eiijoving now a jiraetiec which has steadily 
■;rown in volume and importance. She belongs 
to tlie Woodbury County ifedical Society and 
tin' Iowa State Medical Society, and her read- 
inu' and study are continually broadening her 
knnwledgi' and increasing her efficiency in the 
in-ofessi(in which she has chosen as a life work. 



CIIAELFS M. :\rKTCALF. 

Among the representative agriculturists of 
Willow township is numbered Charles M. ^let- 
i-alf, who has sj^ent the most of his life in the 
vicinity of his present home. He Avas born, 
however, in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, Jan- 
narv :J, ISti:!, and is a son of Miles J. and 
Fainiie ^\. ( Duidjar ) Metcalf, who were also 
natives of that state. The mother was one of 
a family of six children, the others being George 
Dunbar; ^Irs. Sarah Price, of Xebraska; Mrs. 
Helen IJelkmip, of Washington; Mrs. Sylvia 
Smith, of CalitVirnia: and Mary, who is liv- 
ing in 'i'exas. 

Our subject was only six months old when 
his ]iareuts left Pennsylvania and removed to 
.laekson (•..uuty, ^Minnesota, and was eight years 
(if ;ige at the time of the removal of the family 
I,, Wdodbnry county. Iowa. They made their 
Hi-st Ideal ion ten miles north of the present home 
(if (lur subject and after spending three years 
there tliev todk uji their residence on the farm 




7^ L*x^<^. /Pcu^ 



PAST AXD PEESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



345 



where Charles M. is now living. It is a well 
imjjroved place, conveuiently located east of 
Holly Springs, and here the father still makes 
his home with his children. He has followed 
farming and stock-raising with good success and 
has also practiced veterinary surgery. He is 
well known and highly respected throughout the 
community in which he lives and is an earnest 
member of the [Methodist church, to which his 
estinuiblc wife also belonged. She died on the 
home farm Seiitember 24, 1889. They were 
the parents of the following children : Emery 
G. ; Homer, deceased; Hattie A.; Mendell L. ; 
Charles M. ; jS^ettie J. ; Estus B. ; Libbie (Eliz- 
abeth) ; Walter ; Edward W. ; and Sfiles, who 
died in infancy. 

On the home farm Charles M. Metcalf grew 
to manhood with but limited educational advan- 
tages, only attending school for a short time. 
He assisted in the work of the farm and with 
his father and brothers devoted considerable at- 
tention to trapping during his youth. At pres- 
ent he is engaged in general farming and stock- 
raising, owns one himdred and sixty acres 
and is meeting Avitli a fair degree of success 
in his chosen occupation. 

^h: Metcalf was nmrried August 1, 1S91, to 
Miss Marietta Kelsey, who was born August 1, 
1872, a daughter of Henry and Maria (Hy- 
land) Kelsey, who were natives of Ohio. The 
father, residing at Holly Sjirings, is a farmer 
and landowner. He belongs to the ^lethodist 
Episcopal church and is a Republican in poli- 
tics. His wife died May 15, 1899, and is 
buried in the Holly Springs cemetery. In 
tlieir family were five children: Mrs. ]Met- 
calf; Ira, who resides in Illinois; Carrie, at 
home ; Eose, wife of Martin Seward, of Willow 
townshi]!, Woodbury county ; and Pearla H. 
]\Ir. and ]Mrs. Metcalf have become the parents 
of four children: Leonard, born July 17, 
1892; Elsie Lena, who was born March 12, 
1896, and died May 2.5, 1897; Celia Leona, 
born June 10, 1897; and Clinton, born April 
1.=;. 1901. 



By his ballot Mr. Metcalf supports the men 
and measures of the Republican party and aids 
in any movement which he believes calciilated 
to promote the moral or social welfare of the 
community in which he resides. Both he and 
his wife are faithful members of the Methodist 
church of Holly Springs, taking an active part 
in its work, and for the past five years he has 
served as superintendent of the Sunday-school. 
He is a man of quiet habits and is highly re- 
spected and esteemed by all who know him. 



PAUL C. HOWE. 



Paul C. Howe, city editor of the Sioux City 
Morning Journal, is a com2Jaratively recent 
accession to the ranks of Iowa's newspaper men, 
having come to this city from Wisconsin in Oc- 
tober, 1902. At that time he entered the ser- 
vices of the Journal as a reporter, in which ca- 
pacity he remained until October, 1903, when 
he assumed the city editorship. 

Mr. Howe's native state is Wisconsin. He 
was born in Lancaster, April 19, 1878, and is 
a son of John H. Howe, who was a native of 
Xew York and when a young man came to the 
west, engaging in mercantile pursuits. For 
many years J. H. Howe was a traveling sales- 
man for Edson Keith i.V Company, of Chicago, 
and is now general manager for the Rough 
Rider Manufacturing ComiDany at Lancaster, 
Wisconsin. In 1876 he was married to The- 
netta Jones, a native of Wisconsin. 

After comj)leting a course in the high school 
at Lancaster, Paul Howe entered Beloit College 
at Beloit, Wisconsin, where he was graduated 
cum laude in 1900. During the two succeeding 
years he was instructor in sciences and German 
in the Linsly Military Academy at Wheeling, 
West Virginia, and during the summer of 1902 
he did editorial work in New York city for 
Dodd, Mead & Company, coming to Sioux City 
the following fall. Here he has since been con- 
nected with the Sioux City Morning Journal a3 
its citv editor. 



346 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODBLKY COUNTY 



A. A. SADLER. 

A. A. Sadler, lixiini- (ui sec-tioii 3, Wolf (.'reek 
towiisliij), is an at-tixc, eiiter2)risiug and pros- 
pei'ous farmer whose lauded ])ossessions cover 
three hundred and forty acres. He was born 
in Jackson comity, Iowa, on the 14:th of Xo- 
vemhcr, ]8.jS, and is a son of Joseph Sadler, 
a native of Oliiu. wliosc liirtli occurred in Suui- 
niit county, in IS.'iD. There he was reared and 
about 1850 he came to Iowa, locating tirst in 
Jackson county, where he made his Ikiuic for 
a year. He then took uji his abode in Clin- 
ton county, wliere he impro\ed a farm. His 
first wife died in ("linton county and he after- 
ward married again. His children were seven 
in number, the eldest being A. A. Sadler, of 
this review. The others are J. F., a resident 
of Sioux City; C). A., a substantial farmer of 
Wolf Creek township; ilartha L., the wife of 
William McFarland, of Woodlniry county; 
J. ('., a resident farmer of Wolf Creek town- 
shi]i; K. ]\1., who is living on the home farm 
in ('linton county; and W. W., who is a physi- 
cian engaged in practice in Bee, Xebraska. 

A. A. Sadler spent his boyhood days on the 
home farm and attended the common schools, 
acquiring there a good English education. On 
his nineteenth birthday he was married to Miss 
Naney Whittsell, who was liorn in Jackson 
county and was reared in Clinton coun- 
ty. He afterward carried on farming near 
the old honicsteail for two yt'ars and then 
came to Woodbury county, where he purcliased 
one hundred and thirty acres of raw land and 
began the develojunent of his ])resent farm. 
To this he added as opportunity came to him 
and he now has three hundred and forty acres 
in one Ixidy. This is a sjdendidly imjiroved 
pro]ierty and he has a large two-story res- 
idence, in the rear of which are found com- 
modious barns and other necessary outbuild- 
ings for the shelter of grain ami stock. He 
has ])lanted a young orchard and. indeed, has 
made the place what it is to-day, carrying on 
his work along jirogTcssive lines year after 



year, his life being characterized by indefati- 
gable indnsfry, fi'ugality and careful manage- 
ment. 

Unto Mr. and ^Irs. Sadler have been born 
five children: Mrs. Rose Wilcox, a widow who 
resides with her parents and has one son, Cecil 
Wilcox ; Ray R., Mary, Jesse, and Flossie. 
In his political views Mr. Sadler is a stanch 
Democrat where national issues are involved, 
lint at local elections votes independently. He 
has served as townshiji clerk and as a member 
of the school board and is deeply interested in 
the cause of education, doing everything in his 
jiower to secure competent teachers and raise 
the standard of the schools in this locality. He 
has been a delegate to the conventions of his 
]iarty and while he does not care for office him- 
self he is dee])ly interested in the success of 
Democratic jirinciples. Both he and his wife are 
consistent and loyal members of the ]\Iethodist 
Episcopal church, in which he is now serving 
on the otHcial board. His life has ever been 
straightforward and lionorable and he is known 
as a careful, cautious business man, whose per- 
sistent labor has been the basis of the compe- 
tency that he has acquired. 



HEXRY :\L PIERCE. 

Henry !M. Pierce, who was numbered among 
those who witnessed the beginning of things 
in Sioux City and aided in the advancement of 
progress as the years went hx, arrived here in 
1872 and was engaged in contracting in Wood- 
bury county throughout his remaining days. 
He was born in Kennebec county, Maine, March 
n, 182."), a son of Ellbridge and Sarah (Gor- 
ham ) Pierce, the former a native of New Bed- 
ford, ilassachusetts, and the latter of Maine. 
When a young man the father removed to the 
Pine Tree state, where he engaged in ship- 
liuildiiig throughout the renniinder of his life, 
liotli he and his wife died at the home of their 
son in X'ewj)ort, Rhode Islaiul. George Pierce, 



m 


'^ 




B^9^^v%^^^^^|H 




M 




■j^'i^^^ ^KM 



A. A. SADLElt AND FAiflLY. 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



349 



a brother of Henry M. Pierce, was also a ship- 
builder and built the following vessels: Puri- 
tan, Pilgrim and Priscilla. He was afterward 
made suiJerintendent of all the Fall River and 
Hudson River steamers and was thus connected 
in a Imsiness way wp to the time of his death. 

Henry M. Pierce acquired a good education, 
sui^plementing his early training by study in 
Hollowell Seminary, where he fitted himself 
for the sea. At the age of eighteen years he 
secured employment as a ship carpenter on a 
vessel which was starting upon a whaling voy- 
age. He was afterward made captain and had 
charge of the ships Manilla, Hongkong, Ports- 
mouth and Dinsmore. He had charge of and 
was eaj)tain of the ship that carried the first 
carload of provisions into San Francisco and 
he made one voyage that extended for three 
years. He followed the sea until after the in- 
auguration of the Civil war and while in Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts, he offered his services in 
defense of the Union, enlisting in the navy with 
the rank of cajDtain or acting master in the 
navy. He served through the war and was then 
honorably discharged. 

Returning to Portsmouth, Xew Hampshire, 
Captain Pierce entered into partnership with 
his brother in the shipbuilding industry and 
they constructed two very large steamers known 
as the Erie and Ontario, each three hundred 
and seventy-five feet long. He engaged in that 
business until his removal to the west, because 
of ill health. He first located in Flint, Michi- 
gan, and also resided for a time in Holly, Michi- 
gan, where he was employed as train dispatcher 
for two years. On the expiration of that period 
he removed to Onawa, Iowa, where he was en- 
gaged in contracting and building for about two 
years and in 1 872 he came to Sioux City, where 
he began work in the building dej^artment of 
the Chicago, Milwatikee & St. Paul Railroad 
shops. He was afterward a pattern-maker in 
the shops and occtipied the latter position for 
six years. He then began contracting and 
building in Sioux Citv and was engaged in the 



ctinstruction of some of its finest residences, 
many of which now stand as monuments to 
his skill and handiwork. He continued in the 
business here until his death and because of 
his architectural skill added much to the fine 
appearance of the county seat. 

Henry !M. Pierce was married in Dover, New 
Hampshire, to Hannah M. Hanson, a native 
of Garland, Maine, born August 7, US32, a 
daughter of James and Hannah (Place) Han- 
son, both natives of New England, where they 
spent their entire lives, the father following the 
blacksmith's trade. Deeijly interested in poli- 
tics lie was recognized as one of the local po- 
litical leaders and he was also a recognized 
supporter of every movement or measure that 
was calculated to promote the general good. 
]3oth he and his wife spent their entire lives 
in New England. Unto !Mr. and Mrs. Pierce 
were born two children : George Edwin, who 
died in infancy; and Abby K., the widow of 
George Ford, who was engaged in merchandis- 
ing at Elk Point, Iowa, and also in Kansas, 
but is now deceased, while Mrs. Ford resides 
with her mother, Mrs. Pierce. 

.Mr. Pierce departed this life April 19, 1900, 
his remains being interred in Floyd cemetery. 
His was the largest Masonic funeral ever held 
in this city, there being one hundred and sev- 
enty-five members of the craft in attendance. 
He belonged to Landmark lodge, A. F. & A. M. 
and was most true to its teachings, exemplify- 
ing in his life its beneficent spirit. Mr. Pierce 
was a very stanch Republican, deeply interested 
in the party and its success. Both he and his 
wife were members of the Universalist church 
in the east, but there was no organization of 
that denomination in Sioux City. Their 
daughter, Mrs. Abby Ford, is now a member 
of the Episcopal church here. Mrs. Pierce and 
^frs. Ford have many old relics that have been 
in the family for years, including a mortar 
and wood box, made from the old steamship 
Constitution, of which ]\Ir. Pierce was at one 
time owner. They also have a piece of the 



350 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WUUDBUKY COUXTY 



wedding dress of ^Lrs. lleiirv AV. Longfellow 
that was given tliem by a friend in Boston many 
years ago. When President McKinley visiti'd 
Sionx City Mrs. Pierce had the honor of cook- 
ing the dinner which was served him at ilie 
residence of G. D. Perkins, the editor. She 
has recently sold much of her real estate, sa\e 
the old family residence at iSTo. 803 Court street,- 
which was built by ^Ir. Pierce nmny years ago 
and which is now occupied by herself and 
daughter. !Mr. Pierce was one of the leading 
residents of Sioux City. His life was a busy, 
active and useful one. He was successful finan- 
cially and yet he found time to keep in touch 
with the progress in thought and opinion. lie 
was a great reader and had a very retentive 
memory, so that lie kept well informed on all the 
questions of the ilay. 



SA.MCKL E. y:\riTH. 

Samuel E. Sniitli, who foruierly engaged in 
farming and more recently in the hotel and 
livery business, is now living a retired life in 
Moville, enjoying rlic fruits of his former toil. 
His business career, characterized by close ap- 
plication to his work, liy cnterin-ise and dili- 
gence, resulted in the acquirement of a com- 
fortable comiietency. 

Mr. Smith has s]>cnr his entire life in the 
Mississippi valley. He was born in Edgar 
county, Illinois, in IS-tO, a son of James Smith, 
a native of Tennessee, who on his removal to 
the north established his home in Edgar county, 
Illinois. Later he removeil tn Clark county, 
that state, and subsequently took up his abode 
in Arkansas, where his remaining days M'ere 
passed, his death there occurring in 1S73. when 
he was sixty years of age. His wife, who was 
of Welsh descent, survived him several years 
and died in Moville at the age of seventy-eight. 
She was the mother of five children and with 
one exception all are yet living. 

When a lad of nine years Samuel E. Smith 
accompanied his parents on their removal to 



Clark t'ouuty, Illinois, where he was reareil tn 
maidiood upon the home farm and there made 
his liiiHie mitil thirty-two years of age. He 
earl\- la'came familiar with all the duties and 
labors that fall to the k)t of the agriculturist 
and for ten or twelve years he carried on agri- 
cidtural pursuits on his own account in (lark 

county, Illinois. In ISTti he t'anic tu W 1- 

linr\- county and settled a mile and a half soiiih 
of M(i\illc, where he engaged in fanning on 
six hundi-ed acres of land for which he traded 
his property in Illinois. This was largely wild 
and unimproved but he at once began its cul- 
tivation and development and soon transformed 
it into rich and productive fields. At that time 
there were but eight voters living in the village 
of ^loville. He builr a good house upon his 
farm and also sid)Stantial outbuildings, carried 
on general farming and stock-raising and jn-os- 
pered in both branches of his business, becom- 
ing one of the successful men of his township. 
He afterward left the farm to engage in the 
livery and hotel business in l[oville. The hotel 
was called the Fargo and he conducted it until 
aliout a year ago, when he retired from business 
life and has since occupied a comfortable home 
in the village, enjoying rest from further laljor. 
He was tlie iiwner of the first new thresher in 
his township and was always progressive in his 
farm methods and in his hotel business, putting 
forth effective effort to please his patrons and 
thus winning favor with the traveling public. 

While residing in Illinois Mr. Smith was 
a \"ery strong Democrat and he frequently at- 
tended the pviblic meetings which were ad- 
dressed by Lincoln and by Douglas. After 
coming to this county he carried the first nmil 
from Siou.K ( 'ity to [Moville and he has always 
been interested in pidjlic pi'ogress and improve- 
ment here. 

^Ir. Smith was married in Illinois in .Tauu- 
ary, ISdi', to ^liss [Margaret A. Goss, a native 
of Eilgar county, Illinois, and of English an- 
cestry. They have ten living children and two 
have passed away. The family is well knowai 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



351 



in Moville and Woodlmry county, M-here they 
have resided f<ir more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury and ]Mr. Smith has ever been accounted 
a reliable citizen and trustworthv business man. 



MICHAEL HAWK. 



In America labor is king. It is the only 
sovereign wiiich our libertydoving people ac- 
knowledge and it has lieen the I'oundation ol 
the great successes which have been achieved 
in ^buerica from the time of the earliest coloni- 
zation of the new world down tii the present. 
The record which American citizens hold in 
greatest esteem is that of the self-made man, 
one \vhose own energy and sound jiidgment 
have enabled him to make steady progress on 
the highway of life and ultimately gain the 
goal of success. 

Michael Hawk is a representative of this 
class. He is now engaged in business as a 
lathing contractor in Sioux City. He was born 
in Wayne county, Ohio, December 20, 1846, a 
son of Henry and Fannie Hawk, both of whom 
were natives of Pennsylvania. The mother 
died in ISS'J but the father is now living in 
Columbus City, Indiana. The son was edu- 
cated in the county of his nativity, attending 
the pulilie schools, and when fifteen years of 
age he started to work by the month as a farm 
hand, being thus employed until June, lS(:i4. 
At that time he f)ut aside btisiuess and personal 
considerations for he felt that his country need- 
ed his services and that his first duty was to 
the Union. He, therefore, enlisted in Com- 
jjany I, Seventy-eighth Infantry, and was dis- 
I charged in June, 1865. During that period 

I he rendered active and helpftil service to the 

I northern cause and when the war was over he 

j served for three years -with the regular army. 
; On the expiration of that period he returned 

( to Wayne county and began the business of 
I lathing. He removed from Ohio to Indiana 

and afterward became a resident of Wliite 



Lake, South Dakota, while in 1S8S he took 
up his abode in Leeds, a suburb of Sioux City. 
He has since been engaged in business here 
as a lathing contractor and a large patronage 
has been accorded him because of his efliciency 
in the line of his chosen occupation and also 
by reason of his honorable business dealing. 

On the 17th of August, 1878, Mr. Hawk was 
united in marriage to i[iss Sarah Coombe, a 
daughter of Xicholas and Mary Coombe. They 
have two children : ilay, who is now the wid- 
ow of Phil Halzer, of Sioux City ; and ?f icho- 
las, who is married and resides at Xo. 40.37 
Harrison avenue, Sioux City. The family are 
members of the Episcopal church and during 
their residence here have become widely and 
favorably known, winning the friendship of 
manv with whom thev have come in contact. 



BEXJAMIX F. JEXXIXGS. 

Benjamin Franklin Jennings, deceased, was 
for many years actively engaged in the hotel 
business in Hornick, where he became widely 
and favorably known and as a reliable citizen 
and business man he contributed to the im- 
provement and upbuilding of the town, so that 
his death was the occasion of uniform and sin- 
cere sorrow in his part of the cormty. 

^Ir. Jennings was a native of Ohio, his birth 
Imving occurred there in 1834. He came of 
Pennsylvania-Dutch and of English and Ger- 
man descent, bis ancestors having settled in 
Pennsylvania at an early day. He removed 
from Ohio to Illinois and afterward to eastern 
Iowa, arriving in this state seven years before 
its admission into the Union. He located in 
Marion county, casting in his lot with the pio- 
neer settlers and bearing his full share in the 
arduous task of developing and improving a 
new district. He secured a tract of land which 
he at once began to cultivate, althoiigh not a 
furrow had been turned or an improvement 
made when the land came into his possession. 



353 



PAST AND rUESENT OF WOODBUltY L'UUNTY 



TluTf lie i-arric'd on gfucral fanuiug until alter 
the outbreak of the Civil war when his sym- 
pathies being aroused in behalf of the Union he 
offered his services to tlie government and 
served for three years and eleven days as a 
mcndier of Company II, Fortieth Eegimeut of 
Iowa Infantry. He enlisted at Red Eock, 
Marion connty, participated in several skir- 
mishes, but was never wounded, and spent the 
last year of his service at Little Rock, Arkansas. 

When the war was over ^Ir. dennings was 
honorably discharged and returned to his home 
in Marion county. There in December, 1865, 
he was united in marriage to Miss Mai-y E. 
Jones, a daughter of T. P. and Eleanor (Boyd) 
Jones, fornieidy of Delaware and Virginia. 
Mrs. Jennings was born in Hancock county, 
Indiana, Xovember 2!|, ISo'.i, and after their 
marriage they contintied to reside in Clarion 
county, where Mr. Jennings carried on agricul- 
tural pursuits. About twenty years ago they 
came to Woodbury county, settling on a tract 
of land on which he engaged in general farm- 
ing and stock-raising for three years. He then 
took up his abode in Hornick, where he estab- 
lished a hotel, which he conducted until his 
death. ^le was a well read man, keeping in 
touch with the progress of the age through read- 
ing and observation. He was left fatherless at 
the age of five years and largely made his own 
way in the world, whatever sticcess he achieved 
being due entirely to his enterprise and careful 
management. In citizenship he was always as 
true to his country as when he enlisted in de- 
fense of the old flag, and in private life he 
was found trustworthy. He was a man of fine 
personal appearance, five feet eight inches in 
height, with good jjliysique and weighing about 
one hundred and fifty-five pounds. Ilis com- 
plexion was dark and he ha<l black hair and 
black eyes. 

Unto Mr. and ilrs. Jennings were born seven 
children : Laura E., wife of G. L. Washburn, 
residing near Gesses, South Dakota, by whom 
she has thirteen children ; ilinnie E., wife of 



Jay liranam, of Siotix City ; Wesley G., of 
^loiiona county, Iowa, who married Ilulda Jane 
Scott, liy whom he has fotir children; Cora M., 
who is a traveling saleslady and makes her 
home with her mother; Elmer C., a traveling 
salesman; Grace ^I., the wife of William Bat- 
man, of iloville, Iowa, by whom she has three 
children ; and Eva ]\1., who is in the county re- 
corder's office in Sioux City. 

After the death of Mr. Jennings his widow 
with her son and daughter, Elmer and Cora, 
contintied to conduct the hotel until 1903, and 
they are still residents of Hornick. The son, 
born in 1875, is said to strongly resemble his 
father in jiersonal ajipearance and is a young 
man of excellent business ability with a bright 
future liefore him. 



AUGUST GROXUnTGER. 

August Groninger, whose full name was Jo- 
hann Diedrich Aiigtist Groninger, came to 
Wooilliury county in 1S.")7. He was born in 
Elstlcth, Germany, Decendjer 24, 1828, and, 
as is usual in Germany, was called by the last 
of his baptismal names — August. His parents 
were Rev. Frederick and Helen (Ahlers) 
Groninger, who were natives of Elsfleth, where 
they sjicut their lives. The father was a min- 
ister id' the Lutheran church. He devoted his 
life to his holy calling, having retired from the 
active ministry only six years before his death 
in 18G6. August was the eldest of three broth- 
ers, (^ne brother, William, still resides in 
ilunich, Germany, and Adolph is a farmer at 
Blue ^lottnd, Illinois. 

August Groninger was provided with liberal 
educational advantages, being instructed in the 
common schools and by a private tutor until he 
was fifteen years of age. He then went to 
Bremen, where he received his business train- 
ing for five years in the employ of the old 
and well known firm of Hagendorf & Grote. 
Thus well equi]iped to meet the practical and 




WH^-^^^U-t^^ 



I 






PAST A\J) i'iiESEXT OP WOODBUEY COUXTY 



355 



responsible duties of a brisiuess cai-eer, he sailed 
for America when twenty years of age. He 
spent a few months in a wholesale drug house 
in iSTew York city, and then went to Baltimore, 
Maryland, where he was employed in a whole- 
sale tobacco house for a short time. After 
spending three years as clerk in a hardware 
store in C'hillicothe, Ohio, he returned to New 
York city, where he secured a ]iosition as book- 
keeper in a l)ank. 

Two years later he started west. He pur- 
chased a stock of shelf hardware in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, and shipjied it by boat to Sioux City. 
From that time until his death Mr. Groninger 
was a resident of Sioux City. At the time of 
his arrival this was a wild country. Wolves 
were heard howling at night and wihl game 
was plentiful. Sioux City was just entering 
upon the period of its pioneer development and 
progress. Mr. Groninger biailt a small store- 
room on Pearl street, lietween Second and 
Third, in which lie put liis stock of hardware. 

On the 8th of September, 1860, Mr. Gron- 
inger married Miss Caroline Keinke, of Meck- 
lenburg, Germany, burn ]\rar('h 11, 1811. ^li-. 
and Mrs. Groninger liad Imt one child, Fritz, 
who was born Xovember 2!>, 1871:. He was 
killed by accident, being thrown from his pony, 
May 14, 1888. 

For many years Mr. and Mrs. Groninger 
lived in a small hoiise just back of the store. 
Llr. Groninger found it difficult to get a start 
in biisiness, owing to the unsettled condition 
of the country. He had his periods of adver- 
sity and prosperity, as times were good or bad. 
He bought all of his goods in Cincinnati and 
shipped them by boat. One fall the boat, on 
which was the entire stock of goods that he had 
purchased for the spring trade, sank and he 
lost all of his hardware. He persevered, how- 
ever, in the face of all difficulties and at length 
built Tip a large trade. He continued in the 
business for twenty-foiir years and tlien in 
1881 sold out to F. C. Hills. 

Mr. Groninser's death occurred December 



15, iy03. He was not an office seeker, but he 
ser\-ed for two terms as city treasurer, was a 
member of the city council for several years, 
and was also for several years a member of 
the school board. ]\Ir. Groninger's labor in 
l)c]ialf of the city and its welfare was effective 
and beneticial. His political allegiance was 
ever given the Iiepublican party from the time 
he took out his naturalization papers. He 
joined t'ne ^Masonic fraternity in Xew York 
in is,").') and was one of the oldest members of 
the order liere, having become a charter mem- 
ber of Landnuirk l.odgc, A. F. & A. M., of 
Sioux City. ]\Ir. and ^Irs. Groninger joined 
tlie Unitarian church on its organization in 
ISS.'j. He was a very cliaritable man, extend- 
ing a helping hand to the poor and needy and 
also giving generous assistance to every public 
measure which he believed would contribute 
to the substantial growth or to the educational 
and moral development of his community. He 
liad a wide acquaintance throughout northwest- 
ern Iowa and had so endeared himself to the 
people of Sioux City and Woodbury county 
that his death was regarded as a public calam- 
ity and the sorrow manifested was deep and 
sincei'e. He built the residence that is still 
occupied liy Mrs. Groninger, who is prominent 
in social circles and whose home is notable for 
its generous and attractive liosjiitality. 



WILnEL:\l TIEIXKE. 

Wilhelni llcinke was born in Hagenow, 
Mecklenburg, Schwerin, Germany, April 17, 
1813. He was educated in the common schools 
of the town \ip to his fourteenth year, when 
he ■\\'as apjirenticed to a locksmith and there- 
after he followed the trade for many years. 
On the 25th day of May, 1837, he was married 
to !Mary Warnholz, from Lubthen, a neigh- 
boring village. Six children were born to 
them in Germany, but only two lived to grow 
to maturity. ]Mrs. Caroline Groninger and 



356 



PAST AXL) 1'1!1-:.SKXT OF WOODBIKY COUNTY 



^li-s. Julia llaiiicT, \vlii:i still rusiclc in Sioux 
(.'iry. 

In ISJl he emigrated with hi.- faiuilv to 
America, starting from Bremen in a sailing- 
vessel and landing at Xew Orleans, Louisiana, 
seven weeks later. 'J'hey lived in Xew Or- 
leans, and at ('ovington, across lake Pontchar- 
train, for two years, hut the climate in the 
swampy south proving detrimental to their 
health, they went to Duhnque, Iowa, traveling 
by boat up the Mississipj:)! river. For four 
years their home was in Dubuque. As i^roper- 
ty was very high there and ]Mr. Reinke was 
anxious to procure a home he took a trip across 
the state in search of a new location. ^Ir. 
Keinke, Henry ( 'ordua and two others were 
chosen a committee to purchase land for a com- 
pany of Germans, m-Iio also wanted t<j make 
homes for themselves elsewhere, as prices of 
real estate were far beyond their reach in Du- 
buque. These four men started across th(> 
state with a team in July, 1856, enduring tei-- 
rible hardships as there were no roads to fol- 
low. At times the team was almost stink in 
I he sloughs. 

Sioux City had just been started, and con- 
sisted of only a few log huts rudely constructed, 
a few sodhouses and the stores, which were 
conducted in tents, mostly situated on Second 
street between the uiouth of Perry creek and 
the i^resent Alilwaukee dejxit. The connnit- 
tee purchased a tract from Austin ( 'ole, known 
as Cole's addition. There being no land ottice 
or any way of trausferriug the ]n'operty it was 
necessary to bttild a house and live ujion it. 
After the committee had returned to Dubuipie 
and made their re])ort ^Tr. Keinke was asked 
to return to Sioux ( 'ity and rcjireseut the com- 
jiauy, which he did in ( )ctober of that same 
year. 

During his absence Sauliorn cV: Follett had 
sawed cottonwood trees into Ittmber, enabling 
him to construct a small house, situated on Sev- 
enth street opposite the present Floyd ceme- 
tery. There was no bridge across the Floyd 



rix'cr, so all ihe lumber was earried across on 
a rudely constructed boat, and carried from the 
ri\er on ilr. Eeiidve's back. While carrying 
the door for this lioitse from the town to Cole's 
addition, although starting on a bright clear 
morning, he was overtaken by a terrible bliz- 
zard, and carried away, losing the door and 
was himself blown against a sodhouse occupied 
by ^Ir. and ^Irs. John Gertz, where he found 
shelter for three days, until the storm was 
o\-er. That same winter ^[r. Reinke built a 
small house, twelve by twelve feet, at Seventh 
and Water streets, to be used as a gunsmith 
shop. He found work enough to make a live- 
lihood for himself repairing guns for the In- 
dians, the hunters and trappei's, and the few 
white settlers. The winter of 1856-57 will be 
remembered liy old jieople as au unusually 
severe one, and bef<ire the first boat was able 
to coiue up the river with provisions the stock 
of stip]dies was exhausted and friends wottld 
])orrow or lend a ]iint or quart of flour, meal 
or lieans to kee|i one anotliei' alive. 

In May, 3 857, Mr. Reinke was joined by his 
family, who had come from Dubuqiie by boat, 
going down the river to St. Louis and up the 
^lissouri, spending five weeks and two days 
on the way. ]\[r. Reinke had growai so thin 
from the expostires and lack of food that his 
family did not recognize him upon their ar- 
ri\-al in Sioux City. During that summer 
Sioux ('ity had a miniature boi>m and ilr. 
Reinke jnircliased a i|uarter Idock of land in 
central Sioux < 'ity, building a lioiise of five 
rooms, two of which were lathed and plastered 
— an almost uidcnown luxury at that time. 
There the family resided and the daughters 
were marrieil. At length the rejieated over- 
flowing of the Floyd river drove most of the 
settlers away and IMr. Reinke purchased the 
ipiarter block, c<u-ner of Eighth and Nebraska 
street, where he built a cottage for himself and 
wife, building one liouse after another until 
the block Avas filled. In 1887 IMr. and Mrs. 
Reinke celebrated their golden wedding, invit- 




WILLIAM REINKE. 




MES. M. W. REIXKK 



PAST AND PHESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



361 



iiig all the old friends of their acquaintances. 
The coujjle lived together for fiftj-seven years. 
Mr. Reinke died December 10, 1893. He was 
a great home lover and never voluntarily spent 
an evening away ivmw liis family during his 
nnirried life. 



MARY WAILMIOLZ REIXKE. 

"Happy women, like hajjpy nations, have no 
history," says some one, writing from the 
standpoint of the old idea of what is of im- 
portance. But if history means a record of 
those forces and influences that have produced 
the ijrescnt, then surely all that make for hu- 
man life, for human character, and human 
destiny must enter in. Our historians ignore 
this when they write of men only in making 
up the records of the early days. There are 
factors in our life of to-day that can be under- 
stood only as we know of the life of the pio- 
neer women. Patience and courage are not 
virtues peculiar to either sex and are to be 
honored wherever foTind. In oui' appreciation 
of the past shoidd we not offer homage to the 
woman wIkj, given a log cabin ami her wits, 
could make a home, comfortable, reslful and 
attractive ? Should we not reverence the mem- 
ory of a woman who, given pork, corn and cof- 
fee, could furnish three good meals a day with 
a varied bill of fare, who through drouth, pes- 
tilence and famine, through disappointment, 
sickness and death, kept her faith in the Eter- 
nal Goodness and her belief in the final tri- 
umph of the right ? Should we not honor 
those women, who with such indomitable en- 
ergy and ])erseverance made dark places bright, 
crooked places straight, hard places easy and 
with it all kept peace in the family ? Should 
we not honor them as we would honor the mem- 
ory of a sea captain who, with leaking ship 
\ and broken rudder, brought his vessel safe to 
port despite opposing currents and contrary 
winds ? It is because we honor such patient. 



faithftil service that we write of ^lary Warn- 
holz Reinke. 

^lary Warnholz was the fourth child in the 
family of seven children of William and Doro- 
thea Warnholz. They lived in the village of 
Luebthen, Mecklenburg, and here the little girl 
was born J^ovember 11, 1814. She married 
Wilhelm Reinke, May 25, 1838, and with him 
came to America in a sailing vessel in 1851. 
They landed in Xew Orleans and remained 
in Louisiana for two years. The climate prov- 
ing inhospitable the family moved to Dubuqtie, 
but still not contented, four years later they 
came to Sioux City. That they might avoid 
the weariness of overland travel, Mrs. Reinke 
with her children made the journey by boat, 
which meant over thirty-seven days were spent 
in going from Dubuqtie to St. Louis on the 
Mississippi and from St. Louis to Sioux City. 

In 1857 Sioux (^ity had few comforts to 
offer to people of limited means. Of the six 
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Reinke only 
two were living, Caroline and Julia. The fam- 
ily of four made their home in one room, 
twelve feet sqxuire, which stood on the corner 
of Seventh and Water streets. The hotise was 
without lath or plaster, and had but one win- 
dow, in front of which stood the father's work- 
bench. In addition to this a bed, trundle bed, 
table, stove and benches for chairs made up 
the furniture of the little room, but the at- 
mosphere of the true home was there, for the 
spirit of hospitality was ever there. Two men, 
Fred and Christian Doss, were without a home 
and they were cordially invited to become mem- 
liers of this household. An opening large 
enough for a man to enter was made in the 
gable end of the small house, two sheets were 
sewed together and the bag filled with dried 
weeds for a bed, and the guest-room in the 
garret was ready. 

For fifty-seven years this faithful, untiring, 
loyal wife labored on, ever ambitious for her 
children, doing each day her best for them and 
for her husband and friends. Thus her life 



362 



PAST A.ND PRESENT OF WOODBUin' LOUNTY 



rounded itself to its close ilay 27, 1804. 
When the great novelist wrote: "That things 
are not so ill with yon and rue as they might 
have been, is half owing to the men and women 
who have lived faithfully a hidden life and 
now rest in Tinvisited tombs," she described 
well the pioneer men and women of the great 
northwest. 



DAVID C. ROWLAXD, M. D. 

Dr. David C. Rowland, who since 1SS5 has 
engaged in the jjractice of medicine in Sioux 
City, has not feared that laborious attention to 
duty and the close and earnest study which 
make the sttccessf ul physician and in his profes- 
sional labors here his efforts have been of signal 
benefit to his fellow men as well as a source of 
fair income to himself. 

Dr. Rowland was born in Litchtield county, 
Connecticut, August 14, 1843, and is a son of 
Urrin and Lucy (Crittenden) Rowland, both 
representatives of pioneer families of that local- 
ity. He is descended from Welsh ancestry, his 
great-grandfather in the paternal line being a 
native of Wales and the founder of the family 
in America, while the maternal great-grand- 
father was a native <>f England. Coming to 
the new world, at ^lilford, Connecticut, he 
uuide the first clock ever manufacutred in that 
state. The paternal great-grandfather was a 
soldier of the Revolutionary war, as were also 
maternal ancestors of our subject. His grand- 
mother Rowland lived to be one hundred and 
one years of age. 

Orrin Rowland removed to Greene county, 
Wisconsin, in 1856, and the following year died, 
so that the support of the family then devolved 
upon the eldest son and three years later upon 
Dr. Rowland, who at that time was but sixteen 
years of age. The family then consisted of his 
mother, grandmother and youngest brother. He 
had attended school in Connecticut and com- 
pleted his education with such advantages as the 



scimols (if the frontier afforded after the I'emoval 
to Wisconsin. He remained in the latter state 
until 18(i-j, and at tjie age of twenty years he 
removed to Olmsted county. Minnesota, settling 
ten miles from Rochester, where he worked on 
a farm. In 1866 he went to St. Ansgar, [Mitch- 
ell county, Iowa, and in 1S68 took up his abode 
in iVorthwood, Iowa. He had previously 
learned the trades of painting and graining and 
he followed those purstiits in lo'na until 1871, 
when he went to Twin Lakes, Minnesota. 

Dr. Rowland began reading medicine when 
but fourteen years of age and when not working 
to support the family he spent all his leisure 
hours in the study, so that in 1868 he won a 
preceptor's certificate to practice medicine. In 
1871 he was made a member of the State Medi- 
cal Society and received a diploma from the 
state board of censors, who at that time were 
appointed by tlie legislature. In 1874 he left 
Jiis family at Twin Lakes and went to Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, where he attended the Eclectic !Med-. 
ical Institute and was gra<iuated on the 2oth of 
January, 1876. He then rejoined his family 
and entered upon the practice of medicine, 
which he continued in ^Minnesota until June, 
1881, when he removed to Battle Creek, Iowa. 
He ])racticed there until 1885, when he came to 
Sioux City where he has since been in active 
]iractice, and his labors have been attended with 
gratifying success. 

In 18(14 Dr. Ruwland was unitccl in uiarriage 
to [Miss Sarah Jane Williams, a daughter of 
Jonathan Williams, of Eyota, Minnesota, who 
fiilldws farming there. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Row- 
laiiil have been born the following children: 
William J., born January 15. 1866, married 
^[iss Eva Carter, of Twin Lakes, Minnesota, 
and lias four children. Martha Jane, born Felv 
ruary 17, 18(^!1. is the wife of George I. Fogle. 
a farmer of ^[ontana, ancl they have four chil- 
dren. Lucy C., born January 27, 1871, is act- 
ing as her father's housekeeper. Ambronette, 
born Octolier 15, 1872, is the wife of Walter 
Gorham, who is eniiaired in railroading and 




^^. Ju^rU w, ;^/, ^, 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



365 



makes his home in Minneapolis. On October 
12, 1889, Dr. Rowland was called niion to 
moni-n the loss of his wife, who died in ilinne- 
sota. 

The Doctor attends the Christian church and 
in his political views is a Republican. He be- 
longs to Perseverance Lodge, No. 446, A. F. & 
A. M., at Battle Creek, Iowa; Echo Lodge, ~No. 
119, I. O. O. F., of Battle Creek; the Modern 
Woodmen ; and the Mystic Toilers. He is ex- 
amining surgeon for the Woodmen of the World 
and in the line of his profession he is a member 
of the Iowa State Eclectic Medical Society and 
the N^ational Eclectic Medical Society. He is 
one of the leading representatives of his school 
of medicine in this part of the state, conscien- 
tious in the performance of his professional du- 
ties, diagnosing a case with great care and pre- 
scribing with a full realization of the respousi- 
liility which rests upon the physician as the cus- 
todian of human life and health. He is now 
engaged in a life work for which he early mani- 
fested strong predilection and has followed in 
the line for which nature probably intended 
him, if success and efficiencv be anv criterion. 



OSGOOD WHITTEMORE. 

Although Osgood Whittemore was a resident 
of Sioux City for only a few years he became 
well known and is yet kindly remembered by 
many who gave him their friendship and re- 
gard. He was a native of Rome, ISTew York, 
and a son of James H. Whittemore, who was 
born in Boston, Massachusetts, whence he re- 
moved to Rome at an earlj"- day. There he be- 
came actively identified with industrial and 
commercial interests and he owned sawmills, 
tanneries and stores in various parts of the east, 
both in Massachusetts and ISTew York. Thus 
he conducted business for many years, but made 
his home in Rome, Xew York, and in the latter 
\ part of his life lived retired there. 

Osgood Whittemore acquired a jiraetical edu- 
cation in the best schools of Rome and Clinton, 



New York, and on j^utting aside his test-books 
he began working for his father, having super- 
vision over some of his father's stores and mills. 
He thus visited many parts of the east through 
the years sjjent in that way. Later he went to 
Brooklyn, New York, where he engaged in the 
crystal gold business known as the A. J. Watts 
famous gold filling for teeth, the gold being 
used for all kinds of dental work, and first in- 
troduced by A. J. Watts, the noted inventor. 
For fifteen years Mr. Whittemore engaged in 
that business and was very successful. His 
close proximity to the sea, however, proved 
detrimental to his health and his physician ad- 
^'ised him to go south. He then began travel- 
ing through the southern states and finally lo- 
cated at Texarkana, Texas, where he built a 
home and also invested in property in that 
vicinity. He resided there and in Texarkana, 
Arkansas, largely living retired for fifteen 
years, merely supervising his invested interests. 
His health became much impaired in that time. 
In the meantime his sons had left the south and 
located in Sioux City, Iowa, and in May, 1896, 
]\Ir. Whittemore came to Woodbury county. 

In Rome, New York, !Mr. Whittemore was 
married to Miss Celia Brown, a native of that 
place and a daughter of Giles K. and Lavina 
( Posson ) Browm, both of whom were natives of 
New York. Her father was extensively en- 
gaged in farming in the east and owned large 
tracts of land near Rome, New York, where he 
made his home until his life's labors were ended 
in death. Mrs. BroAvn is now living at the ad- 
vanced age of ninety-one years, and makes her 
home with her children in Rome, Brooklyn and 
Saratoga, New York. She has also paid several 
visits to her daughter, Mrs. Whittemore, in 
Sioux City. Unto our subject and his wife 
were born three children : James H., who was 
connected with oil mills and was also engaged 
in the cotton business in the south, removed 
to Sioux City and was identified with milling 
interests here for a few years. He is now in 
the city treasurer's office with his brother George 



366 



PAST AND PREteEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



B., who is the second of the family ami is now 
serving as city treasurer of 8ioux City. Dilhi, 
the youngest, is the wife of Harry A. Goocli, 
who is cashier of the Iowa State Xatioual 
Banlv. They have three children : Dorothy W., 
Helen W. and Harry W. Mr. Gooch has been 
engaged in the banking business since coming to 
Sioux City, and is very prominent here, being 
an active factor in financial and business circles 
and also well known in social life. 

After his removal to Sioux City Mr. Whitte- 
more lived retired vintil called to his tinal home. 
He had in former years made careful invest- 
ment of his means and by his capable business 
management he acquired a comfortable com- 
petence. He passed away January 25, 1898, 
and his remains were interred in the Logan 
Park cemetery. He was a member of the 
Knights of Pythias lodge at Texarkana, Ar- 
kansas. He always took an active interest in 
politics, served as alderman at Texarkana 
throughout the period of his residence there 
and was also county treasurer at lliller county, 
Arkansas, for several years. He also engaged 
in mercantile pursuits. Both he and his wife 
were members of the Congregational church of 
Brooklyn, ]^ew York, but never united else- 
where and the daughter and sons are members 
of St. John's Episcopal church in Sioux City. 
Mrs. Whittemore has recently sold much of her 
property in the east, but still has property in 
Arkansas and has realty interests in Sioux 
City in addition to her pleasant residence at 
No. 2102 Jackson street, where she is now liv- 
ing with Mr. Gooch and his familv. 



WILLIAM CONARD. 

William Conard, a farmer on section 10, 
Rock township, is a native sun of Illinois, his 
birth having occurred in Moultrie comity, that 
state, on the 5th of May, 1863. His parents 
wei"e Anderson and Harriet (jMulholland) Con- 
ard. The father was born in Ohio and when 



a young man went to Illinois, where he met 
and married Miss MulhoUand, a native of that 
state. They located in Moultrie county and 
there Mr. Conard died when his son William 
was about two years old. His widow survived 
him for a number of years and afterward re- 
moved to Macon county. 

William Conard has been dependent upon his 
own resources from early boyhood. He had 
fair common school advantages and was reared 
in Illinois. He worked as a farm hand by the 
month in that state for several years and when 
a young man came to Iowa. Throughout his 
entire life he has carried on agricultural pur- 
suits and is now well known as a progressive 
and enterprising agriculturist of Woodbury 
county. Making his way to this state in early 
manhood he was married in Louisa county on 
the 27th of September, 1888, to Miss Carrie 
Jane Bozraan, who was born in that county. 
They located near Decatur, Illinois, and for a 
year after his marriage Mr. Conard continued 
to work by the month as a farm hand. He 
then engaged in the operation of a rented farm 
for several years and also did any work that 
he could secure that would yield him an honest 
living and give him a good start in life. He 
ojjerated a coal bank for about four years in 
Knox county, Illinois, and in 1893 he came to 
Iowa, where he rented a tract of land, which 
he operated for several ycai's. In 1900 he pur- 
chased his present property but rented and cul- 
tivated other lands for a year following. He 
traded his farm for South Dakota land and re- 
moved to that state, being identified with agri- 
cultural interests there for a year, after which 
he sold out and returned to Ida Grove, Iowa, 
where he purcliased and conducted a hotel. 
He was identified with that business for four- 
teen months and also engaged in speculating 
in Dakota land. He had previously purchased 
his present property and in 1903 he erected a 
commodious and substantial residence upon his 
farm. This he has since occvipied. He also 
built a orood barn and lias one of the best im- 




WILLIAM COXARD AND FAMILY. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



369 



proved farms in his townshij). His executive 
ability, keen business foresiglit and untiring' 
diligence have been the strong and effective ele- 
ments in his successful career and thereby he 
has won for himself an enviable position among 
the men of affluence in Woodbury coiinty. 

In 1898 Mr. Conard was called upon to 
mourn the loss of his wife, who died in Ida 
county, leaving six children; William O., 
Lulu May, Ernest, Ada, Cassie and James. 
On the 27th of December, 1899, Mr. Conard 
was again married in Ida county, his second 
union being with Mrs. Mary C. Haller, whose 
birth occurred in Cedar county, Iowa. She 
is a daughter of Philip and Mary A. (Sheets) 
Darger, the former a native of Pennsylvania 
and the latter of Virginia and was the oldest 
of their three children, one son and two daiigh- 
ters. Leaving home at the age of six years she 
li\'cd with strangers until eighteen and the fol- 
lowing year earned her own living. She tiicn 
married Frederick Haller, Iw whom she had 
three children: Edna G. and Elmer F., wlio 
are still living, and Ray H., deceased. Politi- 
cally Mr. Conard has been a life-long Kepubli- 
can, although he was reared in the faith of the 
Democracy. He belongs to the Yeoman Fra- 
ternal Insurance Company as does Mrs. Con- 
ard. 



JOHN N WARREX, M. D., M. S. 

I)r. doliu T^Telson Warren, whose professional 
service is that of the consulting physician and 
surgeon, the latter branch making heavy de- 
mands upon his time and attention, has been 
a resident of Sioux City since 1889. He was 
born in De Witt, Clinton county, Iowa, jVpril 
30, 1846, a son of Monroe Warren and Betsey 
K". (Soliss) Warren, of Albany, ISTew York. 
The father removed from western Ohio to 
Davenport, Iowa, in IS-t."), and the following 
vear settled in DeWitt, where ho esrnblished 



a blacksmith shop, which was later developed 
into a carriage factory. 

Dr. Warren atttended the puldic schools of 
Dc Witt, pursuing the high-school course there, 
and later Avas a student in the seminary at 
Mount Carroll, Illinois, prior to entering the 
State University of Michigan in 1809. He was 
a student in the Miami Medical College, at Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, where he was graduated with 
the class of 1871, and he pursued a post-grad- 
uate course in ISTew York city. He was assist- 
ant to Professor Dawson for three months in 
the winter of 1883-4, being the first man to take 
a practical course of actual work, instead of 
tlie ordinary method of watching the labors of 
the instructor. That method was then in vogue 
in Germany but had not yet been adopted in 
America. He also studied under Dr. Thomas 
Emmett and others and made a specialty of 
surgery. He studied general surgery under Dr. 
Little and s^Jent three and a half months in the 
New York Woman's Hospital. He was also 
for one year in the ( 'ineiniuiti Hosjiital and 
thus liy broad an<l vari('(l jiosjiital (■x])erienee 
has been well trained for the arduous duties of 
a private practice in siirgery. He was graduat- 
ed in 1884. He had, however, practiced in De- 
Witt, Iowa, from 1876 until 1878 and at Storm 
Lake from 1878 until 188i!. He was associ- 
ated with Dr. Piatt in a drug store in Sioux 
City for one year, 1882-3, after which he went 
to New York for a year's special study. Then 
returning to Sioux City he opened an office in 
connection with Dr. Savage. In 1885 he went 
to Stin'm Lake, Iowa, Init in 1889 returned to 
Sioux City, wlicre he has remained continu- 
otisly since, and during the last five years he 
has engaged only in surgery and a consulting 
practice. His opinions are held in high regard 
liy the members of the fraternity and his skill 
in surgical work has led him to confine his at- 
tention thereto. 

Dr. Warren was chief surgeon for the Sioux 
City (S: Northern Railroad Company from the 
time of the construction of its line until it 



370 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



was purchased by the Gi'eat Xortbern in I'.tOl. 
He is also chief surgeon of the Wilhnar i: Sioux 
Falls Railroad Company, is president of the 
Sioux City College of iledicine and is also 
professor of principles and practice of surgery 
and clinical surgery. He is a member of tlie 
Woodbury County Medical Society and the 
Sioux Valley Medical Society, of which he 
was one of the organizers and its secretary in 
1874. He aided in organizing the Iowa State 
Association of Railway Surgeons in 1894 and 
belongs to the .Vnieriean Medical Association, 
the Western Surgical and Gynecological Asso- 
ciation, the International Association of Rail- 
way Surgeons and the Iowa State iledical So- 
ciety. 

Fraternally Dr. Wan-en is a Mason, belong- 
ing to Landmark Lodge, Xo. 103, A. F. tir A. 
M., also to the chapter and eonimandery. In 
politics he is a stanch Repiiblican, with deej} 
interest in the success of the party, but his ]iro- 
fessional duties leave him little time for polit- 
ical labors, for in his i-liosen field of ]al>or he 
is leadino' a busv and useful life. 



THO:\[AS PARKE GERE. 

An enimieration of tlie men of the present 
generation Avho have gained distinction iu west- 
ern Iowa would be incomplete were there fail- 
ure to make prominent reference to the gen- 
tleman whose name introduces this review. In 
his business career lir lias shown indomitalile 
perseverance and strong individuality, and 
there is iu him a weight of character and a 
fidelity of purpose tliaf liave commanded tlie 
respect of all. He is widely known in con- 
nection with railroad construction and indus- 
trial development in this part of the state, hav- 
ing first visited Sioux City in 1871 with an 
engineering corps, since which time he has so 
directed his efforts that there has come to him 
a distinguished position in connection wirh the 
great material industries of Iowa. 



^Ir. Gere was born at Wellsburg, Chemung 
county, Xew York, September 10, 1842, and 
is the youngest son of George Morgan and Sarah 
Champlin (Parke) Gere. The ancestry of tlie 
family can be traced back through more than 
two and a half centuries to George Gere, who 
was born in the county of Devon, England, 
arrived at Boston in 16-35, and was one of the 
early settlers of Xew London, Connecticut. 
Caj)tain Reziu Gere, the great-grandfather of 
Thomas Gere, was killed in battle at Wyoming, 
Pennsylvania, during the war of the Revolu- 
tion. In the maternal line Mr. Gere is descend- 
ed from colonial ancestry equally remote, the 
progenitor of the family in America being Rich- 
ard Parke, who was born in Cambridgeshire, 
England, in 1602. Richard Parke settled in 
Cambridge, ilassachusetts, in 1636, and tliere 
became the owner of six hundred and forty 
acres of land, including the site upon which 
Harvard College now stands. Benjamin 
Parke, the great-grandfather of ]Mr. Gere, was 
killed at the battle of Bunker Hill, while com- 
manding a company of minute men, wlio were 
fighting to sustain America's lil)erties. His 
son, Thomas Parke, with his wife Eunice 
Champlin, who was one of the Cliani])lin fam- 
ily of Xewport, Rhode Island, was the first 
settler of Dimoek township, Susquehanna coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, and their daughter, Sarah 
Champlin, afterward Mrs. George Morgan 
Gere, was tlie first white child born in fliat 
toM-nship, her natal year being 1802. There 
tile father of onr stibject resideil until ^lay, 
1S.")(), when he removed to Waukegan, lIliiKiis. 
In iiarch, IS.")!, he became a resident of Allen's 
(ivove, Wisconsin, and in Jitly, 1852, located 
at Wabashaw Prairie, now Winona, ^finne- 
sota, where he remained until .Tnlv, 1S54, 
when he settled at Chatfield, ^linnesota. 

Thomas Parke Gere accompanied his parents 
on these various removals. He pursued his 
early education in the frontier schools and was 
afterward a student for six terms in the Chat- 
tield .\eademy, meeting the expenses of his 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOUDBUEY COUNTY 



3n 



acadcinic course with iiicnu-y -w-hicli he had 
earned as a tlagiiiau in tlie service of a survey- 
ing i^arry, engaged in subdividing guvernnient 
land at the headwaters of the Des Moines river. 
He had been thns employed when sixteen years 
of age. After leaving the academy Mr. Gere 
continued his studies at home until the in- 
ailguration of the Civil war in 1861. He vol- 
unteered three times before gaining the con- 
sent of his parents to his enlistment but at 
length, when nineteen years of age, he was mus- 
tered into the service as a private of Company 
B, Fifth Eegiment of Minnesota Volunteers, 
joining the array at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. 
He was appointed first sergeant of his company 
on the 5th of March, 1862, and second lieuten- 
ant on the 2-lth of March, of the same year. 
The conijiany was stationed at Fort Ridgely 
dtiring the succeeding summer and lost thirty- 
two men, including its captain, in the Sioux 
outbreak of that year. In December, 1862, the 
company joined the regiment at Oxford, [Mis- 
sissippi, and participated in the subsequent 
campaigns of the Fifteeutli and Sixteenth Army 
Corps of the Army of the Tennessee. IMr. 
Gere was appointed first lieutenant of his com- 
pany on the 20th of August, 1S62, was made 
regimental adjutant ]\rarch 20, 1863, and brig- 
ade adjutant on the Trh of ^larcli, 1864. He 
was slightly wounded at the battle of Nash- 
ville, Tennessee, on the l.">tli of l)ecend)er, 186-t, 
and captured a rebel flag in the engagement 
on tlie folloM'ing day, and in recognition of this 
was presented by congress, through the secre- 
tary of war, with the United States medal of 
honor on the 22(1 of February, 1865, at 'Wasli- 
ington, 1). C. On the 5th of Ajn-il, 1865, lie was 
mustered out of service by reason of the expira^ 
tion of his tei-m of enlistment. He made for 
himself a most creditable miltary record and 
returned liouie with tlie honors of war. 

-Making his way to ]\rinnesota ]\Ir. Gere re- 
sumed his studies and in the fall of 1865 he 
accepted a jmsitiou witli an engineering party 
engaged in sl^■ve^■in<i■ lines for a railroad from 



St. Paul down the ^lississippi river. This road 
is now the river division of the Chicago, Mil- 
waukee & St. Patil Railroad Company. Seem- 
ing to possess a natural ^jredilection for civil en- 
gineering, his studies from that time forward 
were most diligently directed to the acquire- 
ment of that profession. In April, 1866, he 
engaged as a leveler on the northern division 
of the St. Croix & Lake Superior Railroad, 
and in the fall of the same year he became as- 
sistant under General G. K. Warren in the 
United States survey of the Mississippi river 
from Fort Snelling to Hannibal, Missoviri. 
During the months of January and February, 
1867, he was enrolling clerk of the house of 
representatives of the state of Minnesota. On 
the 1st of May, 1867, he became assistant en- 
gineer with the St. Paul & Sioux City and the 
Minnesota Valley Railroads, acting in that ca- 
pacity during the location and construction of the 
main line and its branches, or until the 1st of 
January, 1873, when he was appointed chief en- 
gineer and was placed in full charge of the 
maintenance of way and structures. Mr. Gere 
filled that position seven years, and on the 15tli 
of January, 1880, was appointed assistant su- 
perintendent. Upon the consolidation of the 
St. Paul & Sioux City and West Wisconsin 
Railroads under the name of the Chicago, St. 
Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad he was, 
on the 1st of October, 1880, made siiperinten- 
deiit of the St. Paul division and on the 1st 
of June, 1881, he was appointed superinten- 
dent of the Sioux City division with head- 
quarters at Sioux City. On the 16th of Jan- 
uary, 1882, he was transferred to the position 
of superintendent of the eastern and northern 
divisions and returned to St. Paul. In De- 
cember of that year he was notified of his a.p- 
pointment as assistant general superintendent 
of the entire line, but ujion the acquirement of 
the road by the Chicago & Xorthwestern Rail- 
road ('ompaiiy and the retirement of H. H. 
Porter from the presidency, the general super- 
intendent, ( 'liarles F. Hatch, also vacated his 



372 J'AST AND IMtKSKXT OF WOODIU'in' COUKTY 

Ijositidii, and Mr. (icrc likewise resinncil, his i>\\iiei' of his localilv, |)i'eiiiiiieut and influential 

rc'sin-naticiu takiiii; etVeei cm ihe Isi of April, citizen ihei'e. exerlini; strong influence in hical 

ISS.",. atl'airs, ami fer t went y-eig'ht years he was the 

In llial year Mr. (iere eiiiereij inlu |iartiier licincireil niay<ir ef Kolfsta<lt. He died in the 

shi]i relalidiis with \l. I). IIiiMiard. of Mankato, year ISli.', while his wife jiassed away in 1848. 

Minnesota, and cdnstrneleil flie lai-n'e plant Mrs. Smith i-ame to tlie United States in 

known as the Linseecj ()i| A\'orks in Sioux ( 'ity. IS(il), a young lady of hut twenty-two yeiiv.?, 

This was liegnn in the snininer of IS.s;; ancj to \isii her hrolher, who was then living in 

was coniideted in ISS| nnder the ininiediale Si. l.ouis, ^Missouri, .\fter a year there jiasse 1 

supervision <d' .Mr. (Iere. lie has sinee resided she renio\-ed to Sioux City, Iowa, where she 

in Sioux ( 'ity as manager of the linsiness, which has resided eont inuously since 1861. In IS'l'^ 

has become one id' the gi-eai prodnetive Indus- she became the wife of (Captain Benjamin 

tries of this pin-tion of I he state. He has also Franklin Smith, who was an assistant adjutant 

hc'cn insliaimenlal in pr ling nniny other genei'al and at the (dose of th<> ( 'ix'il war lield 

hnsiness enterprises and was in 1 S'.i 1 president llie rank of c(donel. lie was a lira\'e and fear- 

of the Sionx ('ity iV X(u-tiierii Railroad ( 'om- less ottieer, one who was unfaltering in his loy- 

pany, and a niendier of tlie hoard of directors alty to the cause he esjioused, ami at the battle 

<<{ the ('.irn I'lxcdiange .Xatiomil liank. of l''oi't Donelsoii he was wonnded. When hos- 

Mv. Gere was united in nnirriage on the liith tilities had ceased and the preservation of r le 

of September, 1S74, with Mary Ennna She|)ard. \' nhn\ was assured by reason of the valor and 

at 'Manl<alo, Minnesota, and they now liave Iwo conlinncd hyalty cd' the northern troops, iir. 

daughters and two sons. Smith returned to Sionx ('ity, where he en- 

The cai'eer <d' .Mr. (Iere has been ehnracterizecl gaged in the drug business. He was influenrial 

hy iiniiring indnstry and hy enviable accone ^I'l'' :i<'tive in imblic aflfairs and his eo-opera- 

lilishmenl. lie is .pii(d< of perception, activo 'i"" •■""bl be counted upon in all movements 

and jiersislent in execution, ami his (dose ajipli- +''"' '1"' Jieneral w(dfarc and the ptdilic g..od. 

cation to bnsiness and excelleni nninagemeiit Sioux City nund)ere(l him among its valued 

ha\c br.inglit to him llie repntalion which is I'esideiits and his fVllow townsnum gave pr.jof 

to-day his. I! is hnsiness principles and ad ions "f tli(dr tiaisl in him by electing him to llie 

have been (dia r.icleri/.cd hy strict and nnswerv- position of county treasurer, which otiie- he 

ing integrity. His labors, too, have been .d' a ^"'■'' 'bfongh re-cdection for (dght consecutive 

character that have proven of direct hcn(dit to .vars, retiring from the position as he had en- 

his fellow men and his personal (pialilies of f'''''''' it— with the contidcnce and good will of 

coiirlesy, kindliness and affability have gained ''1' •■oiH'crned. 

for him the regard and frieiidshii) id' those with -\bif long after his retniai to private life his 

wdiom he has come in contact. health faile(l him and the last years of his life 

■were s]ient in retirement from business cares. 

Tie ]iasseil away dniic H. JST'.', at tlie age of 

forty-two years, and his loss was the occasion 

:\IKS. ('.\K()|.IXK S.MITII. (d' unif(n'm sorrow thronglumt Si.mx City. He 

^Irs. Caroline Smith, well known in Sioux '^ y^'^ "'''1' vemeudiered by many friends as 

City, where she has made her home for fortv W(dl as by his fandly, to whom he left not 

three years, was born in Koltstadt. Clernuuiv iK'f only a comfortable comiietence, but also the 

.\iu'il l'C, 1S;1S, a daughter of John and Htden priceless heritage id' an nnfarnished name -ind 

{l\'iss(d') Shuster. Her fat her was a lar^e lamb honorable record in all life's ndations. 




B.r SMITH 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUPV COUNTY 



375 



Unto ^Mr. ami Mrs. Smith had been horu 
three chihh-fii, hut Pleleu S., the eldest, died 
at the ag'e of twenty years. Alice Eleanoi is 
the wife of J. 8. ^liehael and with this daugh- 
ter Mrs. Smith resides. Frank Edward, the 
3'oungest, is now living in Denver, Colorado. 
Mrs. Smith is a memlier of the English Luther- 
an chiireh and licr ( 'hristian faith lias per- 
meated her life and gnidiMl licr actions toward 
those with win mi she has come in contact. She 
has a wide acquaintance in Sioux City, where 
she has so long made her home, and the circle 
of her friends is now an extensive one. 



WILLIAM JOIIX WOLFK. 

William J. Wolfe, the pojiuhir postmaster of 
Smithland, is an imjiortant factor in business 
circles, being one nf the j)rnpriet(irs of the Peo- 
jjIc's Store, and his jM.ipularity is well deserved, 
as in him arc endjraced the characteristics of 
an unl)ending integrity, unabated energy and 
industry that never flags. He is a leading mer- 
chant of the village and as a public-spirited 
citizen is th(.>roughly interested in whatever 
tends to promote the moral, intellectual and 
material welfare of the commimity. 

Mr. Wolfe was born in Kemptville, Ontario, 
Canada, on the 21st of Ai)ril. ISTl, a son of 
W. J. and Sarali ( 1 )e Pencicr ) Wolfe. The 
fatlier was born in the north of Ireland of Irish 
parentage and died when our subject was (|uite 
young, ilr. Wolfe was reared and educated in 
Canada and from there came to Smithlaml, 
Iowa, in 18S!l. Here he was married in June, 
1893, to Miss Maude Haight, a daughter of 
George Haight, who is now living in Xebraska. 
She has two sisters who are stenogra])hers in 
Sioux City and her mother is now ^Irs. James 
]\Ieek, wdio resides on a farm near Anthon in 
]\riller township. 

The latter, who bore the nniiden name of 
ilargaret J. Clark, was born in ISOl and is 
the only cliild of Elilrr Cliarlcs Henrv and 



Xancy Clark. Her father was a well known 
minister of the Christian church, lie was born 
in Genesee county, Xew York, on the 1st of 
January, 1817, and in 1856 married Miss 
Xancy Kogers, who was born October 12, 1818, 
and is the youngest of the ten children of Xa- 
than and Sarah (Jacques) Rogers. Her father 
was a representative of the Rogers family of 
( 'onnecticut. In tlie year of their marriage Mr. 
and ]\lrs. Clark came west with a family to Min- 
nesota and settled tifty miles from Spirit Lake, 
where they remained until Febrmirv, 1858, when 
they removed to Smithland, Iowa. On arriving 
at this place they found that most of the male 
population had gone to Pike's Peak. About 
ISfiO the Indians created much alarm among 
the settlers and those living north of Smithland 
fled to that village, the women being left largely 
unprotected. Soldiers were sent for and a stock- 
ade was built at Correctionville. The Indians 
stole a great deal of stock and committed many 
other crimes. Although ]\Irs. Clark passed 
through nntny trying experiences in pioneer 
<lays she is still hale and hearty and is able to 
do her share of the household duties. In early 
life her edncatlonal advantages were limited, 
but she made good use of her opportunities and 
is a very bright old lady. She now makes her 
home with her daughter, Mrs. Meek, three miles 
north of Oto. At one time Elder Clark kept a 
public house or fa\-ern at Smithland, which 
was on the stage line about midway between 
Dennisou and Sioux City. This hostlery was 
known as the Burr Oak Hotel. ^Ir. Clark got 
out the logs for its construction, the doors and 
window casings being made of black walnut. 

In 1S94 ~Mv. Wolfe established his present 
store, starting in business with a small stock of 
groceries, Init three years later he formed a 
])artnershi]> with J. D. Greve and added dry 
goods, boots, shoes, ladies' aiul men's furnish- 
ing goods and notions to his stock. They have 
enlarged their store building from time to time 
to make room for their growing stock and now 
occupy three ro(jms fronting the street 



Hi! 



PAST AND TKESEXT OF WOODBUHY COUNTY 



with tlu' grofcrv and drv i^oods depavt- 
iiicut and postdliieL'. Tliry carrv a well selected 
stock valued at eight thousand dollars and re- 
ceive a liberal patronage from the surrounding 
country, the store heing known as the "Big 
St(n-e with Little I'l'iees.'' Mr. Greve is not a 
resident of Sniithland, but is coiuiected with the 
firm of Greve & Company in a hardware store 
at Boone, Iowa, and also Greve Brothers at 
Gushing, Iowa. Mv. Wolfe is in charge of the 
Smithland establishment and no nuxn in the 
community stands higher in the esteem of all 
classes, especially the farmers, who apjjreciate 
liiw jn-ices, courtcims treatment and honest 
dealing. Everything is sold exactly on its own 
merits. .Mr. Wolfe bas erected a fine residence 
in kSmithlaud and takes great interest in beau- 
tifying his liDUie and surrdundings. He is a 
lover of good horses and has a fine team which 
he drives. He is also fond of baseball and is a 
devoted follower of Izaak Walton, being an 
expert fisherman, whose table often attests his 
skill with the b(Mik and line. Tie is a true 
sportsman and has no mercy for those who dis- 
obey the fish and game laws. In bis political 
views he is an ardent Republican and in re- 
ligious faith is an Episcopalian. 



]\IKS. ALVILDA J. ARXOLD. 

One of the most biglily esteemed Ia<lies of 
Willow township is Mrs. Alvilda .1. Arnold, 
who is a nativt' of AVoodbury county, born in 
Smitiibind on llie Stb of June, IS.'iC. and is a 
re|)resentative of a very old and iironiiuent 
family of this locality, being a daughter of Eli 
Lee, th(> first white settler of Woodbury ctmuty. 
He was born in New York state, on October 
12, 181S, and spent his early life in the east, 
being married in that state to ifiss Helen 
Bowers, who was born in Germany, August H, 
1822, and was nine years of age when brouglit 
to American by lun- ]iarents, Benedict and 
Elizabeth Bowers, the t'aniil\- locating in ^sTew 



York. On coming west Mr. Lee first located in 
Illinois, liut in the spring of 1S52 became a 
resident of Woodbury county, Iowa, his home 
being first in Sniithland and later upon a farm 
east of Holly Springs. He was prominently 
identified with the early development of the 
country and his name should be among the fore- 
most on the roll of honored pioneers. Mrs. 
Arnold is a sister of Lorenzo B. Lee, who is to- 
day the oldest living settler of the county with 
one exception, and of Mrs. Elizabeth Welling- 
ton, who died April 1, 1904. 

On the .")tli of N"ovemher, 1ST4, .Miss Al- 
vilda J. Lee gave her hand in marriage to 
GiMirge Arnold, the wedding lieing celebrated 
in what is now Willow township but then a 
part of West Fork townshij). She met her hus- 
band under quite romantic circumstances. He 
was born in England, April 13, 18.50, and was 
brought to this country by his j^arents when 
only thirteen months old. The family settled 
near Batavia, Illinois, and there he was reared 
and educated. In llii' fall of 1S72 he came to 
Iowa to N'isit bis uncle, Henry Arnold, who 
owned the Jacob Feltncr farm near Holly 
Springs, niaking his home with him until his 
marriage. He first wedded Miss Eliza Bayiie, 
wlio diecl December I'O, ISTD, leaving one son, 
('ornelins S.. who was l)orn duly 21, 1ST3. 
Cornelius S. Arnold was married January 10, 
1897, to Miss Addie Seamans, a daughter of 
Benjamin Seamans, who was formerly a resi- 
dent of tills county but now makes his home in 
^lissouri. They hax'e three children, a daugh- 
ter born January S, I'.KIO; and twin sons, born 
Deci'ndier 1, \'.uy2. At time of birth these boys 
weighed nine and a ((uarter ]iiiunds anil now 
weigh twenty-seven and twenty-four pounds, in 
August, 1'.M)4. 

Lnto George and .Mvilda J. (Lee) Arnold 
were born tlie following children: ^fyrtie, 
bofii Sepiember ."), ISTC, is tbi^ wife of Silas 
Miner, of Holly Sju'ings, and they have seven 
cliildreii, Mabel, Henry, Hazel, Silas, Lee, Fay 
and I'4oi'a, whose aiics rain;'e from ten vears to 




.All;. AXn MRS. GEORGE ARNOLD. 




MK. AND MRS. ELI LEE. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



381 



four luuiitlis. Eliza Lori'tta, hum Jauuarv 1!), 
IsTs, is the wife of Joseph Bend, whose home 
is ill Lehmd, La Salle county, Illinois, and they 
have tw(.i children: Enna, aged two years; 
an<l (Jra, aged nine months. John Eli, horn 
November 2, 1879, lives oneJialf mile mirth of 
his mother. He was married .March ."), T.tOi!, 
to Sarah Francis and tlic^y have' two children, 
Lloyd, born October t!, 1!(02, and George, born 
April 26, 190L Lorenzo Richard, born Jnly 
.">, 18S1, lives on the home farm. He was mar- 
ried December 16, 1903, to Amy Francis, a 
daughter of Joseph and Olive (Miller) Fran- 
cis, who reside thi"ee miles northwest of Holly 
Springs. Fi'ank, horn April 17, 18S4, com- 
pleted his education in the Hdlly Springs high 
schord and is now at home. Herman George, 
born March 7, 1887, Harry, horn June 20, 
1889, and Helen Jane, horn August 8, 1890, 
are all at home with their mother. 

The father of these children ilie<l <in tlu' J.Jth 
of January, IS'.i-t, h(in<ircd and respected by 
all who knew him. He was an earnest and con- 
sistent member of the ilcthodist church, al- 
though reared a liajitist, his mother having lie- 
liinged t(p that denomination, and he was a life- 
long supporter of the Republican party and its 
principles. His father recently died at Leland, 
Illinois, March 12, lOO-t, at the ripe old age of 
eighty years, while the mother died April 21, 
1904. 

Since her liusliand's death .Mrs. .Vrimld has 
carried un the farm of uue hundrecl and sev- 
enty acres in Willow township with the as- 
sistance of hei- sons, and in eouuection with 
general farming gives considerable attention 
to stock raising. She has displayed excellent 
Imsiness ability in the management of her af- 
fairs and has met with well deserved success. 
She has a beaiitiful home, wdiich she has re- 
cently remodeled, it being a two-story, six-room 
house. She is wi'll known and highly respected 
throughout the counly and has a host of friends 
in the comuiuniry wliere she has so long made 
her home. 



AKTIMUS W. HOGUE. 

Artinuts W. Hogue, who is tilling the posi- 
tion of postmaster at Moville, and wdio is also 
engaged in journalistic work as one of the own- 
ers of The Citizen, was born at Tidioute, War- 
ren county, Pennsylvania, in 1866. Llis father, 
Thomas Hogue, was also a native of that state, 
born in 1832, and is- no living in Fagundus, 
Pennsylvania. In early manhood he married 
Miss Nancy J. ilcCray, likewise a native of 
the Keystone state, born in 1840. They became 
the parents of three children, all yet living. 

^Ir. Hogue of this review spent the first four- 
teen years of his life in the place of his na- 
tivity and then accompanied his parents on 
their removal to Correctionville, Iowa. Four 
years were there passed and the family then 
came to Woodbury county, settling one mile 
southeast of what is now the town of Moville. 
When the town was founded they took up their 
abode in the embryo village and the father built 
the first hotel, called the Hotel Traver, but now 
known as the Commercial Hotel. He followed 
the business for about two years and then turned 
his attention to merchandising. Later he re- 
turned to Pennsylvania, where he is now liv- 
ing at the age of seventy-two years. 

Mr. Hogue, whose name introduces this rec- 
ord, was his father's associate and assistant in 
many of his business enterprises imtil the latter 
returned to Pennsylvania, when the son entered 
the field of journalism, establishing the Mo- 
ville Mail, which he conducted as a member of 
the firm of Hogue & Graham. In 1896 this 
partnership ^as dissolved and !Mr. Hogue es- 
tablished the Arlington Post, a Republican pa- 
per. On the 2d of July, 1897, he was ap- 
pointed i^ostmaster, in which position he has 
since served, and after entering upon the du- 
ties of the office he discontinued the Post and 
with Alfred Redman began the publication of 
the paper known as The Citizen. This they 
now own and publish, and it is a good country 
journal, having a very desirable patronage. 
This makes it a £>t)o<1 advertising medium, and 



382 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



its biisiness is coiitiiiiially growing. Mr. Hogue 
is also a stockholder in the Arlington Telephone 
Company. 

On the 31st of March, 1896, Mr. Hogue was 
married to Edith M., a daughter of Hon. W. 
W. MacElrath, and they have one child, Mac- 
Elrath. Socially Mr. Hogue is connected with 
the Ma.sous and the Odd Fellows and his po- 
litical allegiance is given the Republican party. 
His interest in local advancem^ent and progress 
is deep and sincere and has led to hearty and 
substantial co-djieratidu in nmny movemeuts for 
the general eood. 



JOHX L. SOMMEE. 



John L. Sonmier, who is holding the position 
of manager of the Sioux City Brewing Com- 
pany, has advanced in business circles through 
strong determination, cai^ability and unremit- 
ting energy. He is a native of Cleveland, 
Ohio, his birth having occurred in that city in 
1870. His father, John L. H. Sommer, was 
born in Wurteiuberg, Germany, and in his boy- 
hood days came to the new world, crossing the 
Atlantic in 1840. He settled first in St. Louis, 
^lissouri, Avhere he worked at anj employment 
which would yield him an honest living. For 
some time he was employed in steamboating on 
the Mississippi ri\er. He eventually located 
in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1846, and there secured 
a position in a grocery store, where his fidelity 
to the interests of those whom he represented 
and his quick Inisiness discernment won him 
promotion. As his financial resources were 
thus increased he saved his earnings and event- 
ually embarked in merchandising on his own 
account, conducting an enterprise which as the 
years passed brought to him a handsome com- 
petence that enabled him to retire from busi- 
ness circles and enjoy a well earned rest. He 
is a member of the German Protestant church 
and also of the Improved Order of Red Men. 
His jidliticnl allcaiaiK'c is aiven to the Democ- 



racy and in 1876 he was elected a member ol 
the city council of Cleveland, Ohio, serving in 
that capacity for three terms, his re-election 
being indicative of his fidelity to the city's wel- 
fare in the discharge of his duties. He was 
also one of the county conmiissioners of Cuya- 
hoga county, Ohio. In early manhood he mar- 
ried Margaret Fleurschutz, who was born in 
Saxony, Germany, and they became the parents 
of five children : Andy, who at one time was 
a prominent member of the Xational League of 
baseball and is now proprietor of the Tivoli 
Garden at Cleveland, Ohio; George J., who is 
general manager of the Gehring branch of the 
Cleveland & Sandusky Syndicate of Brewers, 
located at Cleveland, Ohio; John L. ; and two 
daugters, one of whom died at the age of five 
years and the other at the age of twenty-two 
years. 

John L. Sonmier acquired his early educa 
tion in the public schools of Cleveland au'l on 
putting aside his text books entered a brewery 
in order to learn the trade which he followed 
for seven years. He then became eonncrted 
with the pork packing industry as an employe of 
the Lake Erie Provision Comiiany, which he 
represented for two years. In 1893 he came 
to Sioux City, Iowa, and entered the employ of 
Selzer Brothers, wholesale liquor merchants, as 
a salesman. When he had remained in their 
employ for five years he accepted a position as 
collector with the Sioux City Brewery and re- 
mained in that capacity until 1900, when he 
was made manager of this large concern. In 
January, 1904, he purchased the interest of 
Joseph Baumgartner, who was then ]n'osident 
of the company, and ^^ir. Sonmier was nnide 
general manager, and is now filling this impor- 
tant position. In the discharge of his duties he 
displays good business ability, executive force 
and keen perception and his cajiable manage- 
ment has contributed in unmistakable manner 
to the success of the enterprise. The brewery 
is situated on Elm street and the main btiild- 
ing, built in 1S98, is seven stories in height, 






Z^^-^^^^c 




PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



385 



while the buttling house, built in I'JOi, is three 
stories in height and one hundred and sixtv 
bv sixty-five feet in dimensions. The capacity 
of the brewery is one hundred thotisand barrels 
per year and that of the bottling department is 
one hundred barrels per day. In the former 
forty men are now employed and twenty in 
the latter. The present ofiicers of the company 
are Joseph C. Head, of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 
president ; Abel Anderson, of Sioux City, vice- 
president ; B. H. Kingsbury, of Sioux City, 
secretary ; and Rudolph B. Beerend, of Sioux 
City, treasurer; while the board of directors 
consists of F. L. Eaton, B. H. Kingsbury, 
Joseph C. Head, Abel Anderson and John L. 
Sommer. 

In 1897 Mr. Sommer was united in marriage 
to Miss Ella Fisher, who Avas born in Sioux 
City and is a daughter of George C. Fisher. 
They have two children, John and Amelia. 
Mr. and Mrs. Sommer hold membership in the 
German Lutheran chtirch and he is a member 
of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, 
the Sons of Herman, the Fraternal Eagles, the 
Germania Society and the Bankers' Union. 
He takes an active interest in political affairs, 
giving his allegiance to the Democratic party, 
but never seeking or desiring office as a reward 
for his party fealty. He is content to devote 
his energies to his business affairs and it is be- 
cause of this that he has attained to a very 
lucrative position in trade circles. 



CHARLES .M. WADE, M. D. 

I )r. Charles ~S[. Wade, pi'ofessor of orthopedic 
surgery in the Sioux City College of Medicine, 
and also well known in surgical practice and as 
a consiilting physician in northwestern Iowa, 
is well qualified for his chosen calling by broad 
scientific knowledge as well as practical skill. 
He was born in Cedar county, Iowa, April 28, 
1868, a son of John I. and Fanny (Safley) 
Wade. The father was a farmer and raiser of 



fancy stock, and is now living retired in Mount 
Vernon, Iowa. He served his country as a sol- 
dier (if the Civil war, enlisting in the Second 
Iowa Cavalry. After the battle of Shiloh, he 
sustained injuries in crossing a bridge, which 
broke down when the troojjs were on it. This, 
unfitting him for further duty, led to his hon- 
orable discharge. In his family were three 
sons and three daughters : Dr. J. C. Wade, a 
physician and wealthy ranchman of Oconto, Ne- 
braska, who is a graduate of the Sioux City 
College of Medicine ; A. E., who is attending 
the same institution ; Elizabeth, wife of Profes- 
sor Gladson, electrical engineer at the Univer- 
sity of Arkansas; Francis and Ruby, who are 
with their father at Mount Vernon : and 
Charles M. 

In the public schools of Cedar county Dr. 
Charles M. Wade acquired his early education 
and in 1886 entered the State Agricultural (Jol- 
lege, at Ames, from which he was graduated in 
18.89. He took the degree of M. S. in the 
jSTorthwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, 
in 1892, and for several years he was a pro- 
fessional chemist. He was analytical chemist 
at the Agricultural College for fourteen months, 
during 1890-91, at the Hatch experiment sta- 
tion, and was jDrofessor of chemistry in 1902-3 
in the University of Fort Worth, at Fort Worth, 
Texas. His course in medicine was pursued in 
the Sioux City College of Medicine, from which 
he was graduated in 1898, and soon afterward 
he opened an office here, continuing in practice 
to the present time with constantly growing 
success. In 1902 he became associated with 
Dr. William Jepson, and since that time he has 
been making a specialty of surgery in his prac- 
tice. He is also consulting physician and to 
a limited extent engages in the general practice 
of medicine, but his labors are mostly confined 
to his specialty. He now occupies the chair of 
orthopedic surgery, including fractures and dis- 
locations, in the Sioux City College of Medi- 
cine. In 1904 he opened a laboratory which 
he has siiice conducted with marked success. 



386 



PAST AND PHE8ENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



He has long made a close study of the science 
of chemistry, devoting six collegiate years to 
the mastery of its princij^les. 

Dr. Wade belongs to the Woodbnry County 
Medical Society, the Sioux Valley Medical 
Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and 
the American Medical Association and through 
the proceedings of tliese organizations he is 
continually broadening liis knowledge by keep- 
ing in touch with the work and discoveries of 
other nieniliors of the profession. 

On the 5th of January, 1897, Dr. Wade was 
married to Miss Alma Hayes, of Dubuque, 
Iowa, a daughter of John Hayes, and unto them 
has been born one child, Gladys, whose birth oc- 
curred March 8, 1901. 

In his social relations Dr. Wade is an Odd 
Fellow and a Knight of Pythias. In politics 
he is a Republican. He held the office of county 
coroner four years, retiring in January, 1904. 
The first tinK> lie was clcctcMl by a ])hirality of 
fourteen hundred and furty-fonr votes and the 
second time by two tlmusanil and one votes, 
running five alicad nf the state ticket, a fact 
which is indicative of his personal popularity 
in the city where he makes his home, and where 
he has so directed his labors professionally as 
to win tlic confidence of the general public and 
of the nicndicrs df tlie medical fratoriiirv. 



MRS. ELTZABP]TH E. ALLBURX. 

Mrs. Elizabetli E. Allbnrn, of Sioux ('ity, 
was born at Shell Rock, P>utler county, Iowa, 
October 27, IS.",.-,. Her father, George W. 
Adair, was a nali\-e <>f West Virginia and died 
in 1879 at tlie age id' sixty-seven years. He 
was a farmer and mill o-\raer and became one 
of the pioneer residents of Iowa, arriving in 
this state in 1S:]7. Here lie founded the town 
of Shell Rock in IS.".-", and nm<le his home there 
from that time until his demise. He took a 
very active and inlhienlial part in jiublic ]irog- 
ress and inii)r(ivement and be was one of the 



leading meudjers of the Methodist Episcojjal 
(•hnr<'li, assisting in the building of that church 
and contributing generously to its support. He 
voted with the Democratic i)arty. His wife, 
who in her nmidcTdiood was Elizabeth E. Smith, 
was born in Ohio and died in ^lay, 1902, at the 
age of se\'enty-ninc years. She was a mend>er 
of the Methodist Episcojial chureli and in her 
daily life exemplified her (.'liristian faith. 
Unlii Air. and ]\lrs. Adair A\-ere born nine chil- 
dren: Mai'v ,1., the deei-ased wife of E^phriam 
Town; John, of Sioux City, who served 
tlirouglunit the (?ivil war as a nieudier of Com- 
pany B, Seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and 
was wounded at the battle of Belmont, in which 
be was taken prisoner; Lucy .\., the wife of 
Ralph D. Bowcn, of Smith ('enter, Kansas; 
George, a retired farmer of Shell Rock, Iowa, 
who served for one hundred days in the ("ivil 
war as a niusieian ; Walter W., who is a busi- 
ness nmn of .Vuburn, Nebraska; ]\lrs. .Mllmrn; 
Sarah il., the wife of Thomas Rawlings, who 
is living in Wakefield, Xebraska ; Blanche, who 
is llie widow of Charles Herringtou and resides 
in Wakefield, Xebraska; and Xettie E., mIio is 
the wife of George E. Meade, of Shell Rock, 
Iowa. 

Mrs. Allbnrn acquired lier early education in 
the ]iidilic schools of Shell Tu.ek. Iowa, and 
afterward attended Cornell College at M<iunt 
Vernon, Iowa. She came to Sioux ('ity in 
187(1 and was here engaged in teaching vocal 
and insti'Mnienfal music iintil 1879. On Christ- 
nms evening of that year she gave her hand in 
marriage to Allen A. Allbnrn, w]\i> was born in 
('olumbus ('ity, Iowa, January 14, l^."i7. and 
was a son of Charles and Susan .Mlburn, both 
of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. His 
father was a contractor and bi'iek mason in 
former yi'ars and is now deceased. At the age 
of twelve years .Mr. Allbnrn liegan work in a 
])rinting office at ( 'oluudms City and was later 
euqdoyed in Burlington, Iowa, and Washing 
ton, D. ('., working on the Chronicle in the 
latter cilv. In the siiriuff of 1878 he came to 




MES. ELIZABETH E. ALLBURX. 



i( 



PAST AND I'HESKXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



389 



Si(.iux City and luis since been in tlic employ of 
the Joiu-ual off and on for twenty-six years, 
though at times he lias hccn with other com- 
panies. He has held the positions of com- 
positor, foreman and telegraphic editor and is 
at present linotype man. Fraternally he is a 
member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
men and the Degree of Honor, and politically 
he is a Repnblican. Unto jMr. and Mrs. All- 
bnrn have been born two children, James M. 
and Grace A. 

For the past five years ]\[rs. Allburn has been 
superior recorder of the Degree of Honor of 
the Ancient Order of United Workmen and 
thus has charge of twenty-two grand lodges and 
one hundred lodges, all of which are under her 
direct supervision. She has been a member of 
the order since it was organized in Sioux City 
and was elected chief of honor in 1894. She 
represented I'rosperity Lodge at the organiza- 
tion of the grand lodge of Towa at Cedar Rapids 
in May, lS!t6, and was there elected past grand 
chief of honor and was made a representative 
of the grand lodge of Iowa to the first session 
of the superior lodge, which met in Buffalo, 
ISTew York, in June, 1896. At the latter place 
she was made a member of the finance commit- 
tee and performed her work so acceptably that 
at the session of the superior lodge in .^[ilwau- 
kee, AVisconsin, was made chairman of the com- 
mittee. A year later, at Asbury Park, Xew 
Jersey, she was re-appointed to the position and 
elected superior recorder of the Sioux Falls 
session in l'.»00. Tn the year 1901 at Buffalo, 
New York, in 1902, nt Portland, Oregon, in 
1903 nt St. Paul, Minnt'sota, and 1904 at Chat- 
tanooga, Tennessee, she was re-elected to the 
ofiice, each time without opposition. From the 
supreme lodge at Buffalo in 1902 she received 
the highest commendation because of her most 
capable service. She has created a new system 
of cards and records by which the classification 
of ages is reachced and thus an idea of the 
workings of the lodge is easily obtained. The 



headcpiarters of the W^:.nien's Auxiliary of the 
fraternity are at Sioux City, Iowa. 

:Mrs. Allburn was one of the organizers of the 
P.ecthoven Club and has probably done more 
for it than any otiier member. She was presi- 
dcMit of the club for four years and resigned to 
give her whole attention to her present position. 
In her younger days Mrs. Allburn produced a 
number of operas with home talent, giving very 
successful entertainments. She has great ability 
and is a tireless worker, and beside being a musi- 
cian she is an art critic and has been employed 
as musical editor in connection with the daily 
papers of Sioux City. A lady of superior cul- 
ture and refinement, added to which are excel- 
lent executive ability and earnest zeal in her 
work, ::\lrs. Alllnirn has l>ecome widely known 
in the fraternity of the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen throughout this country and 
has won many Avann friends among its leading 
representatives. 



FRANK LEYSON WIRICK. 

Frank Leyson Wirick, a capitalist of Sioux 
City, owning considerable property here and 
also the secretary of the Interstate Live Stock 
Fair Association, was born in Mendota, Illi- 
nois, in 1862. He has always lived in the Mis- 
sissippi valley and in his life exemplifies the 
enterprising spirit which has been the dominant 
factor in the rapid and marvelous development 
of the middle west. His father, Edmund 
Wirick, was born in Seneca county, New Y'ork, 
and for thirty years he engaged in merchandis- 
ing. Prior to his retirement from active busi- 
ness he conducted a hotel at Storm Lake, Iowa, 
but is now living retired there at the advanced 
age of seventy-nine years. In his social affilia- 
tions he is a Mason and in his political views is 
a Democrat. In early manhood he wedded 
Marv Leyson, who was born in Scranton, Penn- 
sylvania, and is now living at the age of sixty- 
nine vears. Unto :Sh: and Mrs. Wirick were 



390 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



boru five ehilclren : I.eora A., who is the wife 
of G. S. L'omaii, a druggist at Storm Lake; 
Frank, of this review; Gertie A., deceased; 
Aurelia B., who is the wife of Dr. J. H. Law- 
rence, of Storm Lake ; and Gxiy G., who is living 
at Cherokee, Iowa. 

Mr. Wirick acquired his education in the 
public schools of Storm Lake and Fort Dodge, 
Iowa, and afterward entered upon his business 
career as a collector for a number of lumber 
firms, occupying that position for a few years. 
On the expiration of that period he became 
connected with the First Xational Bank at 
Storm Lake in its real-estate department, serv- 
ing in that capacity for three years, when in 
1892 he opened a private banking institution 
at Balaton, Lyon county, Minnesota. He con- 
ducted this enterprise with success for about 
four years, but in 1896 sold out and turned his 
attention to i-eal-estate operations in Sheldon, 
Iowa, where he remained until 1900, when he 
came to Siotix City, where he has since been en- 
gaged in the real estate business, his operations 
in that direction occupying the greater part of 
his time and attention. He has a number of 
residences and flats here and the supervision of 
his property interests makes his life a busy one. 
In addition to his town property he also has 
farm lands in Iowa. He was one of the organ- 
izers of the Citizens Xational Bank, the suc- 
cessor of the People's Saving Bank, becoming 
identified thei'ewith as a director. 

Mr. Wirick was married in 188.") to ^liss 
Zella Evans, and their children are Claude, who 
was born in 1889 ; and Howard E.. born in 
1897. Mrs. Wirick is a member of the Uni- 
tarian church. Mr. Wirick belongs to the Be- 
nevolent Protective Order of Elks, Tyrian 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Sioux City, is a mem- 
ber of the Riverside Boat Club and is a Repub- 
lican in his political views. He has always been 
deeply interested in agricultural advancement 
and was the organizer of the fair association 
at Balaton and also at Sheldon — a district fair. 
He was also the promoter of the organization of 



the Interstate Live Stock Association in Jan- 
uary, 1903. It held its first meeting in the 
fall of that year in Sioux City and this was a 
decided success. Local advancement and na- 
tional progress are causes both dear to his heart 
and in all communities where he has resided 
he has been recognized as a public-spirited citi- 
zen, whose efforts in behalf of the general good 
have been effective and far-reachine;. 



WILLIAM REMSEX SMITH. M. D. 

L)i-. William Remsen Smith is nuuibured 
among the btiilders and promoters of Sioux City 
and the city classes him with its honored and 
distinguished dead. As a jjractitioner of medi- 
cine he was widely recognized for his skill and 
ability ; as an agriculturist he was progressive 
and prosperous ; as a public ofiicial he was most 
promjjt and reliable in the discharge of the 
duties that devolved upon him ; and yet while 
all of these qualities won for him the respect 
and confidence of his fellow men it was his 
great warm heart that gained for him the love 
and deep affection of all with whom he was 
associated and caused his memory to be re- 
vered and cherished throughout the city in 
which he made his home. "He was," said a 
friend of many years standing, "the sweetest- 
souled man destiny ever granted to a com- 
munity." 

Dr. Smith was born December 30, 18:^8, at 
Barnegat. Xew Jersey, and passed away at his 
home in Sioux City in 1894, his life record 
therefore covering nearly sixty-six years. He 
was only seven years of age at the time of his 
father's death, and his yotith was largely a 
period of toil, although to some extent he at- 
tended the public schools near his home. He 
worked upon the farm through the summer 
months and was also employed in a harness- 
making shop until the removal of the family to 
Michigan. In that state he became identified 



PAST AND PHKSEXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



391 



with school work as a teacher, lint ambitions to 
enter another liekl of 2)r(it'essional htbor, he 
husbanded his tinancial resources until he was 
able to go to !N'ew York city and enter npon 
preparation for the practice of medicine, lie 
attended three courses of lectures there and 
then returning to the east opened an otKce in 
Macon, where he remained nntil lS.">(i — the 
vear of his arrival in Sionx City, Towa. He 
funnd here a small town, of inconsequential 
j)roportions and privileges, bnt of good possi- 
bilities, and identifying his interests ^vith those 
of the embryo city he became an active factor 
in its development and subsequent progress 
and prosperity. He was for many years recog- 
nized as a leader in commnnity affairs and was 
the promoter of many interests for the public 
good. lie was also active as a medical prac- 
titioner here for eleven years and during that 
time enjoyed a large practice, accorded him in 
recognition of his ability in the line n{ his 
profession. 

In the meantime, three years after his ar- 
rival in Sioiix City, Dr. Smith returned to 
Tecumseh, [Michigan, and there, in 1S.")1(, was 
united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Osborne. 
He brought his bride to his new home and 
as the years passed by eight sons were add- 
ed to the household, but six are now deceased. 
Those living are: K. H. Burton Smith, 
now a lawyer of Sioux City, ami ililtim Per- 
ry Smith, of the Siotix City foundry. ^Irs. 
Smith spent three years at Cambridge, ^lassa- 
chusettts, while her son was jnirsuing a law 
course in Harvard College. The family rela- 
tion was largely an ideal one. It was but 
natural with a man of Dr. Smith's great heart 
that the home should be ever first to him, and 
that he counted no personal sacrifice on his jiart 
too great if it would promote the welfare or 
enhance the happiness of his wife and children. 

Dr. Suiith also made for himself an excel- 
lent reputation in public service as an official 
"whose first interest was the welfare of the ]ieo- 
ple wliom he served. He became identified 



with the l\e2iublican party npon its organization 
and was for years a recognized leader in its 
ranks in his adopted county and state. He stood 
loyally as one of its defenders when to do so 
meant not partisanship, but the supjxn-t of the 
government and the Union <-ause. The first 
military service which he reuderecl was in con- 
nection with a local company of mounted rifle- 
men who qttelled the Indian uprising in ISGl. 
Dr. Smith acted as first lieutenant at that time. 
Xot long afterward he was appointed govern- 
ment surgeon, acting in that capacity until 1S63. 
He was chairman of the vigilance committee 
for home protection when the Minnesota mas- 
sacre of 1862 startled the whole frontier. Un- 
der appointment of Governor Kirkwood he 
made a tonr of inspection among the Iowa 
troops in the field during the winter of ISti-"!, 
visiting the army in front of \'icksburg, and 
as a result of liis investigation into the needs 
of the soldiers, he made a strong appeal for 
vegetables, which he regarded as absolutely es- 
sential for the health of the "boys in lilue." 

In March, 18(33, Dr. Smith was chosen by 
pojmlar suffrage for the oftice of mayor of Sioux 
City, and two months later he was appointed 
surgeon for the board of enrollment for this 
district, serving nntil December, 186-4. For 
several years he was also examining surgeon for 
the pension bnrean. Other governmental dttties 
were assigned liini wlu'u on the l.">th of July, 
186."), he was appointed receiver of the United 
States land oftice and faithfully discharged its 
important duties tmtil the office was removed 
to Des Moines in 1878. It is said that the 
business of the office in a single year amounted 
to a million dollars. In the year of his retire- 
ment from that office he was appointed honorary 
conimissioner from Iowa to the Paris Exposi- 
tion and his report as such was well received 
and found place in many newspapers and pe- 
riodicals, both in Europe and America. In 
18S1 he was again elected mayor of Sioux City, 
and for fifteen years he was a member of the 
scho(d board. He ever exercised his official 



393 



PAST AND PRKSEXT OF WOODBIHY COUNTY 



prerog-ativcs for tlic hciicKt ami ii|ili\iil(liiig of 
the city, and as a private citizen was eqtially 
alert to the possibilities fcir advancement, 
growth and iniprnx'einent here, heing a co- 
operant fa<-t(ir in the great niajurity of move- 
ments for the general welfare. In 18S5 he 
jilatted his liome farm of eighty acres, on which 
he had livetl for many years, making it one of 
the important aihlitions to Sionx City. It is 
called Smith's N'illa and is one of the most at- 
tractive residence portions of the city. In 1885 
he hecami' one of the organizers of Unity 
church, served as a member and president of its 
board of trustees, contributed generonsly to its 
sn|i|iorf and labored effectively and untiringly 
for the extension of its influence until his death, 
which occurred on the 1st of July, 1894. 

]_)r. Smith traveled extensively, both in his 
native country and foreign lands, thus gaining 
the broad knowledge and cosmoiiolitan culture 
■udiich only travel can bring, but while he took 
great delight in visiting scenes of modern and 
historic interest and in meeting men of deep 
learning, his interest centered in his home city, 
the friends of his early and mature manhood 
and in liis fannly. His sympathy, however, 
was as broad as the universe. Ft'W men have so 
strongly exeniplitied in their daily lives a belief 
in tlie "brotherhood of man." He M'as never 
happiei' than when contribnting to the welfare 
and happiness of others and his love went out 
in double measure to the children and to those 
whom fate or some tmtoward circimistance com- 
pelled to bear the heavier bitrdens of life. His 
wife shared with him in all his benevolent w(u-k 
and they were associated in establishing in 
Sioiix City the beautiful ]iark known as Smith's 
Villa Children's Park, although it was named 
Emmerton, in honor of their son. In recent 
year's the ladies of Sioux City have tmdertaken 
th(! work of beautifying this park and in July, 
1902, they erected there a beautiful fountain as 
a memorial to Dr. Smith. Its dedication was 
made the occasion for a nicniorable public cele- 
bration, participated in by tlie officials of the 



city, the jiioneer settlers, prominent people of 
the community and not the least b}- the children 
for whose use the park had been established. 
On one side, the fountain bears the inscription: 
"By his friends. 'A man that hath friends 
must show himself friendly.' '' Siu'li a man 
was Dr. Smith. "He had,"' said an old friend, 
"the qualities essential to friendship — truthful- 
ness, frankness, faithfulness and patience, a 
sympathy that entered into the joy, the sorrows 
and the interests of his friends. He delighted 
in their upward progress and stretched out a 
helping hand to those who fell by the way. 
Because of these qualities we remember and 
honor him." 

G. W. Wakefield, in an address delivered at 
the dedication of the fountain, spoke of Dr. 
Smith's personal characteristics in the following 
manner: "He was a man of great culttire a:id 
refinement, of tender sympathies and kindly 
words ; his arm was ever extended to the poor 
and needy — his genial voice bore hospitable 
welcome in its every tone; his smile warmed 
the hearts of all who felt it with a summer 
glow, and wherever he went sunshine followed 
in his train. His monitment, more enduring 
than marble, is erected in the hearts of his 
friends." 



GOKDOX K. BADCiEUOW. 

Gordon 11. liadgcrow is the jiresent post- 
master of Sioux ('ity. The career of ^Ir. 
Badgerow has been charcterized by unflagging 
energy, perseverance and strong determination 
and he can truly be termed one of Iowa's suc- 
cejsful men. 



BEXJAillX F. WILKEY. 
Benjamin F. Wilkey, a well known citizen 
of Smithlaiiil, is one of Iowa's native sons, his 
birth having occurred in Battle Creek, Sep- 
tember 14, 1877. His father is August D. 
Wilkey, who is now living in Sioux City. 
Over thirtv vears a^o the iiarents removed from 



PAST AND I'KESKNT OF WOODBFEY COT'XTY 



395 



Indiana to this state and settled in Battle Creek 
and later became residents of Woodbury coun- 
ty. From 1885 imtil 1895 the father owned 
and oj^erated the grain elevator at Smithland, 
and then removed to Sioiix City, where he 
now makes his home. His family consists of 
ten children, of whom our subject is the fourth 
in order of birth. 

Coming to Woodbury county during boyhood 
Benjamin F. Wilkey was hero reared and edu- 
cated, attending the schools of German City in 
Willow township, where the family lived for 
nine years. He accompanied them on their 
removal to Smithland and continues to reside 
at that place, being variously employed. In 
December, 1901, ilr. Wilkey was imited in mar- 
riage to Miss Cora Davis, a daughter of Charles 
Davis. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, 
but not a supporter of the free silver policy. 



HOWAED N. BROTHERS, M. D. 

Although one of the recent additions to the 
ranks of the medical fraternity in Siovix City, 
Dr. Howard jST. Brothers, in the practice of his 
profession in Morningside, has met with grati- 
fying success. He was born in Greenville, 
Michigan, January 22, 1870, a son of Nicholas 
V. and Abigail (Van Volkenburgh) Brothers. 
The father was engaged in cabinet and wagon 
making in Syracuse, New York, and removed 
thence to Michigan in 1848. In the latter state 
he secured a claim of forty acres of timber land, 
which he at once began to clear. Not realizing 
the value of the timber at that time, he burned 
more than the land would now sell for. He was 
married in Lyon county, Michigan, in Feb- 
ruary, 1868, to Miss Abigail Van Volkenburgh, 
and they continued to reside upon a farm in 
that state imtil 1882, when they removed to 
Bro^vn county. South Dakota, where Mr. 
Brothers took up a tree claim. He retained this 
for about twenty years, or until 1902, when he 
sold that jirojierty. In 1897 he removed to 



Aberdeen, South Jtakoia, where he is now liv- 
ing a retired life. The two lirothers of our sub- 
ject are Nicholas Artliur, who was born in Oc- 
tober, 1872, and is niaiTicd and resides in 
Odessa, Minnesota, where he is conducting a 
photograph gallery; and Clarence, who was born 
Ajiril IS, lS7."i, ami was married in 1897, to 
Miss Maggie Hunt, lie is a photograjjher of 
Aberdeen, South Dakota. 

Howard N. Brothers attended the public 
schools of ilichigan until his father's removal 
to Brown county, South Dakota, when he was 
twelve years of age. He there resumed his 
studies in such schools as were found in Dakota 
at that pioneer epoch in its history, and at the 
age of nineteen he began teaching, which pro- 
fession he followed until twenty-one years of 
age through the winter seasons, while in the 
siuumer months he assisted in the work of the 
home farm. He was also a student in the Brook- 
ings Agricultural College, at Brookings, South 
Dakota, for one term. He was afterward em- 
ployed at various occxipatious until 1892, when 
he entered the government mail service, and 
for eight and a half years his route was from 
Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Sioux City, and 
for a year and a half he ran to other jjoints. 
During the last four years of his mail service 
he spent all of his leisure hours in the study 
of medicine. He resigned his government po- 
sition April 9, 1903, and was graduated from 
rhe Sioux City College of Medicine, April 29, 
1903. 

Dr. Brothers at once opened an oiHce at Morn- 
ingside, where he has been exceptionally suc- 
cessful in the practice of his profession. The 
manner in which he pursued his studies under 
difficulties which would have deterred many a 
man gives indication of his resolute and deter- 
mined spirit and argues well for his success in 
practice. He has been chosen professor of ma- 
teria medica and pharmacology in the Sioux 
City College of ^Medicine. 

Fraternally Dr. Brothers is a Mason, belong- 
ino- to Tvrian Lodge, No. 508, A. F. & A. M., 



39G 



PAST AND PRESENT OE WOODBURY COUNTY 



at Sioiix City. He is also a member of the 
United Workmen Lodge at Aberdeen, South 
Dakota. In his religious faith he is a Method- 
ist and in his political belief a stanch Repub- 
lican. 

In Xovember, 1896, Dr. Brothers was ttnited 
in marriage to Miss Goldie il. Barr, datighter 
of James W. Barr, of Aberdeen. Her father 
was formerly pump inspector for the Jim river 
division of the Chicago, iMihvaukee & St. Patil 
Railroad and at the present time he is connected 
with rice mills at l^ederland, Texas. Dr. and 
Mrs. Brothers have two children: Lucile 
Goldie, born in July, 1897, and Howard Nor- 
vin, boi-n in A]iril. 1901. 



PARMER HALL. 



Among the honored early settlers of the coini 
ty who are now living a retired life is Parmer 
Hall, a well known resident of Smithlaud wh.j 
has borne an active part in the development 
and uj)building of this section of the state. A 
native of Xew York, he was born July 22, 
1831, on a farm in Jefferson county, which 
region at that time was considered new country. 
His father, Thomas Hall, was also a native of 
that county, where the grandfather, Sylvanus 
Hall, located at an early day. The latter was 
from Xew England, jjrobably Vermont, and it 
is believed that he was either of Scotch, Scotch 
Irish or English descent. He was a small man 
but very strong, having mtich endurance ami 
being able to perform more hard work than 
the ordinary man. He was engaged in the 
manufacture of potash, which he would carry 
through the woods, a distance of twenty miles, 
to a little place now kno^vn as Champion, where 
he would sell it or exchange it for something 
that was needed at home. He found a ready 
customer in an old friend who had established 
a store and brewery at that place and who after- 
ward became jtidge of the new county. His 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Xabbio 



Hall, was of English descent and was known 
throughout the surrounding country as Aunt 
Xabbie. In their faiuily were seven sons and 
six daughters, among whom were Egbert and 
Eliza, both deceased; RoUin; Thomas, the fa- 
ther of our subject; Samuel, who was a carpen- 
ter of Missouri, where he died ; Gilbert and Pel- 
tier, who both died near the old home in Xew 
York ; Sylvanus, who died during his service in 
the Civil war ; ]Mrs. Hannah Ellis and ihs. 
IMary Blanchard, who died in Xew York ; and 
^Irs. Liddy Hardy, who is now living in Indi- 
ana. Our subject's maternal grandfather was 
Ephraim Parmer, who died in California in 
1890, at the age of eighty-seven years. His 
children were Fenner, John, Joel and Polly, 
all deceased ; Liddy, the mother of our subject ; 
Amelia, a resident of Indiana ; Orilla, deceased ; 
Xoah, who is living in CalifVirnia at the aae 
of eighty-one years; and Ephraim, who is liv- 
ing in Oregon at the age of seventy-five years. 
Our subject's parents were life-long residents of 
Jefferson county, Xew York, and although the 
mother died when Parmer was only four years 
old he still holds her in loving remembrance. 
She was a Quakeress. After her death the fa- 
ther married again and by the second union 
had one daughter, Mrs. Liddy Shufty, who liv-^d 
in Xew York state. The father was never out- 
si<lc his native county but once during his en- 
tire life. His second wife also died in Xew 
York. 

Being left motherless at so early an age 
Parmer Hall had few advantages and was un- 
able to attend school but little. The nearest 
schoolhouse was three miles from his home. 
After his father's second marriage he did noi 
remain at home and was never under the pa- 
rental roof a month after he attained his tenth 
year. At a very early age he became depend- 
ent upon his own resources for a livelihood. 
He was the only child by his father's first mar- 
riage. Althotigh his early life was one of hard- 
ship, he is, at the age of seventy-three years, a 
well preserved man, having the strength aid 




Mil. AND :\[HS. PAE:y[ER HALL, 



PAST AND I'KESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



39y 



vitality of one not over tifty. At the ago of 
fourteen years he began working on the Erie 
canal as a driver and afterward as a bowsman 
and was thus employed for three years during 
the summer months, while during the winter 
season he worked in the pineries. 

ilr. Hall finally decided to try his fortune 
in the west but though his father said "You'll 
not stay a year," it was thirty years before he 
returned east and then only when the intelli- 
gence came of his father's last illness. In the 
winter of 1855-C he went to Du Page county, 
Illinois, where he secured employment with 
a man for whom lie had j)reviously workecl in 
Xew York. The following spring he came \vith 
several families to Iowa and was a resident 
of ]\Ionona county until the spring of IS.jS, at 
which time he removed to Smithland. 

In the old Pacific Hoiise at Sioux City, 
!March 4, 1S58, Judge Campbell performed the 
marriage ceremony that made Mr. Hall and 
Miss Elizabeth Jane Adams man iiml wife. 
She is the eldest child of Elijah Adams and 
a sister of W. H. Adams, whose sketch appears 
on another page of this volume. She was born 
in Boone county, Indiana, October 0, 1839, 
and in that state acquired the greater part of 
her education, being sixteen years of age at 
the time of the removal of the family to Iowa. 
She was a very good looking girl, blessed with 
excellent health and rosy cheeks, and was a 
good singer, although she had no opportunities 
fm- a musical education. 

Mr. and ]\lrs. Hall began housekeeping on a 
farm l>elonging to her father near Smithland, 
^Ir. Adams having removed to the village where 
he operated the first sawmill ever brought to 
the county, except perhaps one at Sioux City. 
This mill was put in operation by Hiram Smith 
and Nathan Baker in 185fi and was later sold 
to Mr. Adams. It was ojieratcil by steam ])ow- 
er. Here ]\tr. Smith was killed by falling on 
the saw and Mr. Adams lia<l his left bee! in- 
jured by the same instrument, erii)])ling him 
for several years but not disabling liim. Mr. 



and Mrs. Hall lived on several ditferent farms 
near Smithland until November, 1!)01, when 
they removed to the village, spending thirteen 
years just previous to their removal on the 
old Adams homestead where they began their 
married life. Mr. Hall now owns that place, 
it being now occupied by his eldest son, and 
he also owns another farm in this county. He 
owns all together two hundred and eighty-five 
acres. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hall were born nine 
children, six sons and three daughters. Will- 
iam ^Y., born December 25, 1858, operate? the 
old Adams farm and owns an adjoining place. 
He was married November 7, 1880, to '!\Iiss 
Mary Ann Fox, of Canadian ancestry, and they 
have six children, Wanda, Lloyd, Vesta, Mar- 
ian, Kussell and Evaline. Thomas A., born 
March 13, 1861, died September 5, 1886. 
Bertha K., born August 7, 1863, was married 
November 13, 1884, to Odes G. Buntin and 
they now live in Oregon. They had four chil- 
dren, but Calla, the eldest, died at the age of 
six years. Th(ise living are Parmer, Dean and 
Madaline. Louis N., born April 5, 1867, lives 
in Onawa, Iowa. He married Bertha Morgan, 
a daughter of Thomas Morgan, of Smithland, 
who is one of the early settlers of the county, 
and they have two children, Eddalee and Helen 
Elizabeth. Edith F., born March 16, 1870, 
was married November 29, 1894, to Anson Du- 
vel, of Quimby, Cherokee county, Iowa, and 
they have three children, Marcus, Dorothy and 
Ranald. Harry E., born October 4, 1873, 
died of pneumonia March 4, 1894. Nellie V., 
born xAugust 26, 1878, was married October 15, 
1893, to Edward Wendell and they had one 
child, Bernadine. Fred P., born February 5, 
1882, is employed as a stenographer and type- 
writer in Sioux City. Mr. Hall has realized 
the advantages of a good education and has 
afforded his children the best opportimities 
along that line. At the age of sixteen his eld- 
est daughter won a silver cup as the best speller 
at a county contest under County Superintend- 



400 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



ent A. K. Wright. Xellie, the youngest daugh- 
ter, attended the high school at Oto and the 
youngest son at Dennison, Iowa. The second 
daughter is a line musician and has taught mu- 
sic, while Mrs. Wendell is also a pianist and 
all are good singers. 

Mr. Hall's father was an old line Whig but 
our subject has been a life-long Democrat, of 
the Bryan type, believing in free silver, and he 
cast his first presidential vote for Franklin 
Pierce. His sons are all Republicans, however. 
He always attends the meetings of the Old Set- 
tlers'^ Association held at Smithland every year 
and can relate many interesting incidents of 
pioneer life in this locality. In 1903 he erect- 
ed an elegant eight-room residence in Smith- 
land — the best in the town — and there he and 
his wife now reside. Although they now live 
alone in their well furnished and roomy house, 
their children and sixteen grandchildren find 
a hearty welcome there. Mrs. Hall has made 
a model wife and ideal mother and has reared 
a family of which she may be justly proud. 
The family honor is above question and "a 
good name is rather to l)e chosen than great 
riches." Mrs. Hall is a motherly woman, kind 
and benevolent and of unusual intelligence, and 
she enjoys the liest of liealth. showing the 
rugged, sturdy ]iinneor stock fmni which she is 
descended. 



GEORGE C. MEYER. 



George C. ]\Icyer, who, through building 
operations, has been identified with the im- 
provement of Siotix City for many years, but 
is now living a retired life, was born in Han- 
over, Germany, on the '5d of Jtine, 1826. His 
parents were Barthel and Mary (Schlichting) 
Meyer. The former was a farmer by occupa- 
tion and died in ISfiO, at the age of sixty-six 
years, while his wife survived him until ISTl. 
In the public schools of the fatherland George 
C. Mever obtained his education and when fif- 



teen years of age he began prejjaration for life's 
practical btisiness cares by learning the car- 
penter's trade. He was a yotmg man of twenty- ' 
three years when in 1849 he crossed the At- 
lantic to the new world. For five years he re- 
mained in New York city, working at his trade 
in a piano factory, and then sought a home in 
the west. Coming to Iowa he settled at I)u- 
bucpie, where he lived until 1866, when recog- 
nizing the possibilities and btisiness opportuni- 
ties of the northwestern part of the state, he 
drove across the country to Siotix City with an 
ox team, arriving on the 8th of November, 1866. 
Here he began working at the carpenter's trade 
and he also bought some land, on which he built 
several houses that he rented. The first house 
which he erected was built of cottonwood lum- 
ber. In 1891 he erected his new residence, 
which is a comfortable home at Morningside. 
For many years he was actively identified with 
Iniilding operations, carrying on his work as a 
contractor until 1888, since which time he has 
lived retired. He took an active part in the 
building of the First German Lutheran church 
of Sioux City, and many other substantial 
structures here stand as evidence of his skill 
and handiwork in the line of his chosen trade. 
In December, 1.'^j9, occurred the marriage of 
Mr. Meyer and Miss Louise ^larie Brunst, a 
daughter of Frederick and ilary Brunst. She 
was born September 11, 1827, in (jerniaiiy, and 
came to the L'nited States in 1856. Her mother 
had previously died in Germany and her fath- 
er's death occurred in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1862. 
Unto Mr. and ilrs. ^Meyer have been born three 
children: Mary F. C, who is tlie wife of M. 
S. Reeves, of Sioux City; William J. ( '., a pho- 
tographer living at home, and Henry August, 
who is engaged in the grocery business in this 
city. 

^Ir. Meyer has always given his political al- 
legiance to the Republican party since its or- 
ganization, but has never sought or desired 
utfice, preferring that his time and attention 
should lie devoted to liis liusiness interests. He 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



401 



came to the United States as a young man with 
no capital, but he jjossessed energy and strong 
determination and tliese elements always win 
recognition in business circles. Gradually he 
advanced, his labors at length resulting in the 
acquirement of a capital that classes him with 
the substantial residents of this place. His 
has been a busy and useful life and he has 
JTistly won the title of a self-made man. 



JOHjS' McDEKMOTT. 

John McIJermott, who devoted his time and 
attention to general farming on section 36, 
Banner township, was born on the 16th of Oc- 
tober, 1850, at Brooklyn, N^ew Y^ork, a son of 
John and Martha McDerniott. The parents 
were natives of Ireland, were there reared and 
married and with two of their children they 
sailed from the old world and took up their 
abode in Brooklyn, in 1848. There they re- 
sided for six years, the father working for a 
coal dealer for three years and for a similar 
period he was night watchman for the same 
company. He then removed to St. Lawrence 
county, jSTew Y'ork, where he resided until 1860, 
which year witnessed his arrival in Iowa. Set- 
tling in Cherokee county he began farming, and 
in the fall of 1861 he removed to Correction- 
ville, Woodbury coiuity, where he remained un- 
til the spring of 1865. His next jDlace of abode 
was on the west fork of the Little Sioux, where 
he conducted a stage station, until the railroad 
was Inult and thus the business of the stage 
line was ended. He then removed to Sioux 
City, locating on Wall street, where he remained 
from 1878 until his death, which occurred in 
1898, when he was seventy-six years of age. 
Mrs. McDermott died in April, 1903, also at 
the age of seventy-six years. They were the 
parents of eight children. 

Mr. McDermott, whose name heads this re- 
view, accompanied his parents on their various 
removals until after coming to Woodbury 



county. In fact, he was a lad of only ten years 
when the family came to this state, and there- 
fore he was largely reared here when north- 
western Iowa was a frontier district. He early 
became familiar with the labors of the farm 
and after his marriage he began farming on the 
homestead taken by his father, adjoining his 
present place of residence. About 1892 he 
removed to his home farm on section 36, Ban- 
ner township, where he took possession of one 
hundred and twenty acres of wild and unim- 
proved land, not a furrow having been turned 
thereon, biU soon the track of the plow was seen 
across the fields and in due course of time 
abundant harvests were gathered. The land is 
now in fine condition, showing the careful and 
practical supervision of the owner. He has had 
a fine house and commodious barn built and 
his energy and enterprise have resulted in the 
development of a very desirable property, form- 
ing one of the attractive features of the land- 
scape. In the early days he drove a stage for 
the jSTorthwestern Stage Company; to-day he is 
one of the prosperous and leading agriculturisis 
of his adopted county. 

Mr. McDermott was united in marriage to 
;Miss Anna Haley and they are widely and fa- 
vorably known in the community where they 
reside. He is prominent in local Democratic 
circles and has held various offices in his to-wn- 
ship, the duties of which he has discharged with 
promptness and fidelity. All who know him 
respect him for his genuine worth, admire him 
for his enterprise, and he has won the friend- 
ship of many with whom he has come in con- 
tact. 



HOWAED F. SIMS. 



Howard F. Sims, who is occupj-ing the posi- 
tion of assistant city attorney of Sioux City, 
was born at Dii Bois, Illinois, October 23, 1865. 
His father, Howard Sims, was a native of 
Georgia and became a civil engineer, following 



402 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



that profession in the south. In 1SC4 he re- 
moved to the north, settling in Dii Bois and later 
in Tamaroa, Illinois, where he engaged in the 
milling business. He had been forced to serve as 
a conscript for two years in the Confederate 
service, and in 1864 with considerable difficulty 
he made his way northward and attempted to 
join the Union Army, but through physical dis- 
ability failed to pass the examination. Ilis 
syni2:)athies, however, were strongly with the 
national government and opposed to secession. 
He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, in his fraternal relations was a Mason 
and in his political views a Eepublicau. He 
married Miss Nancy Elenor Willougliby, who 
was born in jSTorth Carolina and was of English 
lineage, while Mr. Sims is of French Huguenot 
descent. Mrs. Sims now survives her husband 
and is making her home with her son Howard 
F. Sims, at the age of sixty-four years. In her 
family were three children, the brother and sis- 
ter of our subject being "William W. and Eliza- 
beth, both of whom are residents of Pinckney- 
ville, Illinois, where the former is engaged in 
the insurance business. 

At the usual age Howard F. Sims entered the 
common schools of Illinois and is indebted to 
the public school system of that state for the 
educational privileges he enjoyed along the 
more specifically literary lines. He afterward 
learned the printer's trade at Onawa, Iowa, and 
was engaged in the publication of the Monona 
County Gazette in 1888-80. In 1890 he edited 
the Hartington (Nebraska) Herald and in 
1801-2 published the Leeds Leader. In ISSfi 
he was connected with the Journal job office at 
Sioux City. Desiroiis of becoming a member 
of the bar, he attended the ^Morningside Col- 
lege of Sioux City, Iowa, formerly known as 
the University of the Northwest, matriculating 
in the law department in 1894 and completing 
his course there by graduation with the class 
of 1896. He was admitUMl to practice by tlic 
supreme court of Iowa, May l.", 1S96. lie 
then located for practice in Sioux City in the 



fall of 1896, and with the exception of one 
year his j'ractice has been continuous here. 
Since the fall of 1902 he has been assist- 
ant city attorney and he is well qualified for 
t\w office, having a comprehensive knowl- 
edge of the princijjles of jurisprudence. In 
the prei:)aration of his cases he is always thor- 
ough and in their presentation before court 
or jury he is concise yet explicit, and his posi- 
tion is one easily understood because of his 
clear presentation of the facts and the logical 
deductions which he draws therefrom. 

In November, 1889, Mr. Sims was united in 
marriage to Miss Daisy B. Brandin, a daughter 
of Mr. and Mrs. John Brandin, of Onawa, 
Iowa. She was born in Sioux City and by her 
marriage has become the mother of three chil- 
dren : ilarie, Paul and Marjorie. The parents 
are members of the Congregational church and 
are widely and favorably known in social cir- 
cles in Sioux City. Mr. Sims gives his political 
allegiance to the Republican party and he is 
a member of several of the leading fraternal 
organizations, including the Modern Woodmen 
of America, the Woodmen of the World, the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the 
Knights of Pythias fraternity. In his practice 
he has secured a good clientage, and in matters 
of citizenship his interest is deep, sincere and 

lirlpfnl. 



WILLIA:\r 11. DAYHOFF. 

William II. Dayhotl', who is engaged in the 
undertaking business in Sioiix City, was born 
in Thayer, Kansas, October 2.5, 1870. His 
father, the Jlcw H. C. Daylioff, now a i-etired 
minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, liv- 
ing at Sioux City, is a native of Hagerstown, 
JFaryland, and for thii'ty years devoted his life 
to the work of the church in Missouri. In the 
s]iring of 1903, however, he severed active con- 
nection with the ministry and took up his abode 
in Sioux City. In his family were ten children, 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



405 



seven of whom are yet living, namely : C. S., 
who is a Methodist Episcopal clergyman living 
at Mcadville, Missouri ; Grace K., of Sioiix 
City ; Xellie, of this city, who is a music 
teacher ; Clarence M., a traveling salesman for 
Armour & Company; John ¥., of Sioux City, 
Mary, also of Sioux City, and William li. 

In the common schools William H. Daylioff 
began his education, which he continued in the 
Wesleyan University at Lincoln, jSTebraska, and 
was graduated with the class of 1895. He came 
to Sioux City in the spring of 1896 and in 1898 
established his present undertaking business, 
purchasing the same of the Milliai-d estate. He 
has since prospered in this work, has improved 
his quarters and has the initronage of the best 
families of the city. 

Mr. DayhofF was married June 30, 1902, to 
Miss Carrie Hazen, of Sioux City. They are 
members of the First Methodist Episcopal 
church and he is identified with the Masonic 
fraternity and the Odd Fellows' society. In 
politics he is a Eepublican. .He has become 
widely known here and has gained many 
friends who respect him not only on account of 
his honorable business methods but also for his 
manv sterling traits of character. 



DAiVIEL il. WOODMAN. 

Daniel M. Woodman is one of the best known 
citizens of Woodbury county, where for many 
years he has carried on business enterprises, 
while during the past twelve years he has en- 
joyed a well earned rest, living retired in Leeds. 
Because of his wide acquaintance, his long resi- 
dence in this part of the state, and his genial, 
friendly nature, he is known throughout the 
county as "Uncle Dan" Woodman. 

Born in Burlington, Vermont, Aj^ril 13, 
1831, he is a sou of David and Kcsiah (ilas- 
ters) Woodman, both of whom were natives of 
New England, whence they removed to Canada, 
settling near Whitby, where the father pur- 



chased a farm, making his home thereon until 
18.">(i, wjien he took up his abode in Grant 
county, Wisconsin. There he purchased land 
and engaged in general farming until his death. 
His wife also died in that county. 

Daniel M. Woodman acquired a good educa- 
tion in the schools of Whitby, Canada, which 
he attended imtil eighteen years of age, when 
he accompanied his parents on their removal 
to Grant county, Wisconsin, where he carried 
on general farming until he came to Iowa. In 
1872 he settled in Plymouth county, near the 
Woodbury county line, entered land, began its 
development and cultivation and continued to 
engage in general farming there for seven 
years. On the expiration of that period he took 
up his abode in Sioux City and became a mate 
on a boat on the river, being thus employed for 
some time. He afterward secured a position on 
the transfer boat and was thus employed for 
one year, subsequent to which time he was con- 
nected with the Sioux City waterworks for five 
years. He then retired to private life, save for 
the supervision of his property interests. He 
was formerly the o\vner of several houses and 
lots in Sioux City, which he has recently sold. 
He then removed to Leeds, a suburb of the 
county seat, and purchased his j^resent home at 
No. 4500 Arthur avenue. He has also in- 
vested in other building lots in Leeds, which he 
now owns. 

Mr. Woodman was married in Grant county, 
Wisconsin, to Miss Barbara Williams, a native 
of Prince Edwards island, and a daughter of 
John and Catherine Williams, who lived on that 
island. They removed to Canada and settled 
in Grant county, Wisconsin, in 1850, there car- 
rying on farming. Both parents have now 
passed away. There were six children born 
unto Mv. and Mrs. Woodman, of whom Cather- 
ine, the eldest, is deceased. Minerva is the wife 
of William M. Lambert, who is janitor of the 
Mann school in Sioux City. Eosetta E. is the 
widow of Thomas B. Farrell, who was a native 
of Indiana and was there reared and educated. 



•40G 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



He went to St. Louis at an early day and was 
employed as an engineer on a steamboat for 
more than twenty years. He then came to Sioux 
City about 1880 and was engineer on the trans- 
fer boat here for several years, after which he 
was engineer at the Sioux City Water Works 
until 1894, when he returned to St. Loixis, be- 
ing employed as an engineer on a boat which 
sailed from that port until his death. He died 
January 31, 1903, at the age of fifty-nine years, 
and his remains were interred in Floyd ceme- 
tery, at Sioux City, where he had been so 
widely and favorably known, having man}' 
friends here Avho felt the deepest regret at his 
death. He had many admirable traits of char- 
acter and was respected by all who knew him. 
Mrs. Farrell spends part of her time in Sioux 
City, where she has projierty, and the remainder 
of the time with her father in Leeds. She has 
one child, Hazel. David, fourth child of Mr. 
Woodman, died in infancy. Lucy died at the 
age of three years. Annie is the wife of John 
Osnnind, who resides on a farm in Woodbury 
county, six miles from Sioiix City. 
; Mr. Woodman is independent in his political 
views, voting for jirineiple rather than party. 
He has held several minor offices in Sioux City, 
and in his public relations, as well as his pri- 
vate life, has ever been true to the diities de- 
volving upon him. His habits have been in 
most respects extremely exemplary. He has 
never used tobacco or intoxicants in any form 
and his has been a clean, upright life, such as 
has gained him the confidence, respect and good 
will of manv friends. 



JOIIX FITZGIBBON. 



John FitzGihbon, who reached the advanced 
age of eighty-one years and was classed with 
the most venerable and honoreil citizens of the 
county with which he was identified from its 
early pioneer days, was born in Coimty Lim- 
erick, Ireland, on the 10th of February, 1823, 



and died on the 12th of May, 1904, at his 
home in Sioux City. He was a son of Thomas 
and Mary (Harnett) FitzGibbon. The father 
was a farmer in Ireland and in 1825 crossed 
the Atlantic to the LTnited States, locating in 
Xew York city. After nine years, however, 
he continued his westward journey to Indiana, 
where he engaged in farming up to the time of 
his death. His wife passed away in Ireland. 

John FitzGibbon pursued his education in 
the schools of Ireland and there began learn- 
ing the trade of stonemason and stonecutter. 
He afterward crossed the Atlantic to iXjnerica, 
landing in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 20th 
of May, 1846. There he worked at his trades 
for two years, building bridges. He spent 
some time at Lockport and at Cape Cod and 
in 1848 located in Exeter, ^New Hampshire, 
where he also foUoAved his chosen vocation until 
his removal to Sioux City. In Exeter he Avas 
employed l)v John S. Wells, whose ambition 
was to found a city in the west. He made a 
trip for that purpose but had not the means 
for the venture. On his return, however, he 
gave such excellent reports of the west that 
ilr. FitzGibbon resolved to make his home in 
the Mississippi valley. He had traveled from 
!NeAv England with Jeremiah Kelly, still a resi- 
dent of Sioux City, proceeding down the Ohio 
and MississipiDi rivers to St. Louis and thence 
up the Missouri by packet to his destination. 
Here be found a little log jiostoffice and land 
office near the levee, while the business houses 
were on Pearl street. 

Mr. FitzGibbon arrived on the 20th of May, 
1857, and soon became a factor in the business 
development of the young and rapidly growing 
village. Tinder contracts made by him were 
erected Sioux City's first buildings of any pre- 
tensions, and he laid the foundation for the 
IMondamin Hotel. He followed farming to 
some extent, but largely engaged in contracting 
on the railroad, constructing many miles of the 
first railway lines that entered this place. He 
built rwent\-fivo miles of the ^lilwaukee road 




JOHN FITZGIBBOX. 




MIJS. JOHX FITZGIBBON. 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



411 



in 1S70 and in 1872 constructed uuiiiy miles 
of the Dakota & Southern Eailroad, while later 
he built two miles of narrow gauge road in 
N^ehraska. He made the big cuts between 
Sioux City and Riverside and also took and ex- 
ecuted contracts of a similar natiire elsewhere, 
while his business interests became extensive, 
important and profitable. In the fall of 1861 
he put aside all personal considerations, how- 
ever, in order to enter the military service of 
his country, joining Company I], of the First 
Dakota Cavalry, which was engaged in pro- 
tecting the frontier settlers against the in- 
vasions of the Indians. Thus lie served until 
1SG5, when he received an honorable discharge. 

On the 4th of May, 1851, Mr. FitzGibbou 
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Donovan, 
a daughter of Michael Donovan, a native of 
Ireland. They became the parents of four 
children, but Catherine and John died at the 
ages of three and four years respectively. 
Richard, the only living son, established and 
conducted the FitzGibbon drayage and van line 
until January, 1901, and is now traveling in 
Califoi-nia for his health. Mary Elizabeth, 
the only living daughter, is the wife of ^I. E. 
Follis, a city detective. They have bad ten 
children, three of whom have passed away, 
while those living are Mayme M., Loretta, Ed- 
mond, Valentine C, Josephine il., Leon R., 
and Milton E., Jr. While engaged in farming 
pursuits ilr. FitzGibbon pre-empted a home- 
stead on Elk creek, across the Missouri river, 
and laid out Creston Park. There he built the 
first schoolhouse in northeastern ISTebraska, but 
the desire to give his children better cdn'M- 
fional facilities prompted him to return to 
Siou.x City. 

^Ir. FitzGiblion was a member of the Catho- 
lic clinrch and of the Hibernian Society. In 
his active business career he saw opportunity 
for judicious investment in real estate and be- 
came the owner of several residences, the rental 
from which furnished him a good income that 
suppliecl him with all the necessities and com- 



forts of life and many of its luxuries. He had 
a very wide acquaintance in Sioux City, where 
he long maintained his home and where he was 
honored as a pioneer resident and revered 
jDatriarch of his community, receiving the ven- 
eration and respect which should ever be ac- 
corded to those who reach advanced years and 
whose lives have been exemplary of the worthy 
citizen and upright man. 



ALPHOXSO J. McLAUGHLIX, M. D. 

1 )r. Alj^honso J. [McLaughlin, who, associat- 
ed with his brother, is engaged in the jiractice 
of medicine and surgery in Sioux City, un- 
der the firm name of McLaughlin & McLaugh- 
lin, was born July 17, 187G, in Toronto, Can- 
ada. His parents, Philip li. and Ellen Mc- 
Laughlin, were also natives of Toronto, where 
the father engaged in dealing in grain and in 
operating grain elevators, lie died in IS'J'.l, 
and his widow, who is still living, now makes 
her home with her son Alphonso, who is the 
youngest of her five children. Three of the 
brothers, D. F., M. B. and A. J. McLaughlin, 
are engaged in the banking business in North 
Dakota. 

In early boyhood Dr. ^McLaughlin became a 
resident of Kentiicky, where he attended the 
public schools, and later the Kentucky Univer- 
sity, in which he completed a course in medicine 
and was graduated with the class of 1897. 
After spending one year in hospital woi^k, dur- 
ing which he gained broad and valmible expe- 
rience, he came to Sioux ( 'ity and associated 
with his brother, P. B. ^IcLaughlin, he is now 
engaged in practice. He makes a specialty of 
surgery, in wdiich he is very skillful, having in- 
timate and correct knowledge of the component 
]iarts of the Inunan body and the onslaughts 
made upon them by disease or injury or trans- 
mitted from ancestors. He has successfully 
performed some very difficult operations dur- 
in"' his residence in Sioux Citv and has made 



4ia 



PAST AXD PKESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



for liimself an cuviablc i-ejnitntinn. He belongs 
to the American Medical Association, the Iowa 
State Medical Society, the Woodbury County 
Medical Society, the Missouri Valley iledical 
Society, the Sioux Valley Medical Society and 
the Northern Iowa Medical Society. Frater- 
nally Dr. McLaughlin is connected with the 
Knights of Columbus, while politically he is 
a Democrat and reliijiouslv is a Catholic. 



MES. WILHEiv.MENA NOLEN. 

.AErs. Wilhelmena (or Minnie) ISTolen, well 
known in Sioux City, was born in Guttenburg, 
Sweden, in 1862. Her father. Parr Parson, 
also born in Sweden, is still living there at the 
ago of se\'enty j-ears. He is a large landowner, 
and belongs to the Swedish Lutheran church. 
He married Johanna Jones, who was born in 
Sweden in 1838, a daughter of Olaf Jones, who 
held extensive landed interests in Sweden. She 
too was a member of the Lutheran church and 
her death occurred in lilOO. In the family were 
five children: Mrs. Nolen ; Tillie; John, of 
Sioux City; Helga, who is married and lives 
in Sweden ; and Ellen, at home. 

]\Irs. Minnie N"olen acquired her education 
in the public schools of her native place and 
pursued a special course in order to perfect 
herself in a business way. She was married in 
ISSl to K. W. Nolen, of Sweden, who was a 
landowner of that country. They came to the 
United States in ISS.") and located in Wake- 
field, South Dakota. Before coming to this 
country Mrs. Nolen entered a school in order to 
learn the laundry l)nsiness, serving a regular 
apprenticeship and becoming familiar with 
all the details of every department of the busi- 
ness. At Wakefield she secured a location, 
opened a laundry, and remained there for two 
years, at the end of which time she sold her 
building and her business and came to Sioux 
City. Here she jnirchased the Laurel laundry 
which she conducted for nine years, and on dis- 



posing of that she took a trip to Europe. After 
four months she returned to Sioux City and 
purchased the Millsbaugh, then called the Na- 
tional, laundry and finally bought the Eraser 
laundry, combining the two under the name of 
the Nolen & Eraser laundry. She is the sole 
proprietor and business manager and James R. 
Eraser, whose name appears in the firm style, 
is the sujierintendent. The Nolen & Eraser 
laundry ranks with the best enterprises of the 
kind in this i)art of the state and the business 
has been a ^cry prosjierous one under the man- 
agement of [Mrs. Nolen and the superintendence 
of !Mr. Eraser. 

Mrs. Nolen has but one child, Hannah Caro- 
line Noleu, who was born in Sweden, March 
7, 1883. She went through the public schools 
of Sioux City, spent three years in the high 
school and then entered the National Park 
Seminary, near Washington, in the fall of 
1901. She afterward completed her education 
in the Sennecker School for Young Ladies in 
New York city. In 1898 Mrs. Nolen pur- 
chased the elegant residence built by Charles 
Clark, at No. 517 Jennings street, where she 
and her daughter now live amid the comforts 
and luxuries of life. 



GEORGE H. CUilMINGS. 

George H. Cunimings, who is secretary of the 
Sioux City Seed & Nursery Company, was born 
in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in 1850. He ac- 
quired his preliminary education in the com- 
mon schools and afterward continued his studies 
in the Ilopedale Normal College in Harrison 
county, Ohio, becoming a graduate of that in- 
stitution. His superior educational advantages, 
his improvement of such opportunity and his 
sti'ong natural mental qualification well 
cquijiped him for educational work, and fol- 
lowing his graduation he went to Seward, Ne- 
braska, where he accepted the position of su- 
perintendent of schools, acting in that capacity 




MRSVi/ILHRI MFNA NOi . 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



415 



from 1881 imtil 188-4. In the latter year he 
came to Sioux City and upon the organization 
of the Sioux City Seed & Nursery Company he 
became connected with the new concern as 
its secretary and has since been identified with 
the corporation in this capacity. He is a man 
of good business ability, progressive and enter- 
prising in spirit and during the twenty years 
of liis residence here he has become prominent 
and widely known in this section of the state. 
His popularity is well deserved as in him are 
embraced the characteristics of an unbending 
integrity, unabating energy and industry that 
never flags. He has deep interest in the ma- 
terial, intellectual and moral upbuilding in the 
community and has co-operated with his fellow 
townsmen for advancement and progress along 
these lines. 



OTTO J. EAHN. 



With the business interests of Smithland 
Otto J. Rahn is prominently identified, being 
proprietor of a harness and saddlery store at 
that place. He is a native of Germany, born 
July 14, 1870, and is a son of Carl W. and 
Wilhelmina (Gantz) Rahn, also natives of the 
fatherland, the former born in Germany, Feb- 
ruary 3, 1838, and the latter in Germany, 
August 30, 1842. They were married in that 
country and ere leaving their native land one 
son and three daughters were born to them. 
Our subject's paternal grandfather was Carl 
Rahn. It was about 1871 that Carl W. Rahn 
brought his family to the new world and set- 
tled in Onawa, Iowa, where they spent five 
years, after which they located on the Sioux 
river in Monona county, where the following 
three years were passed. For four years they 
made their home in Burt county, Nebraska, and 
then removed to Whiting, Iowa, where they 
lived for foiir years. Two years were then 
passed at German City, Woodlniry county, and 
in 188.5 they took up their residence in Smith- 



land, which has since been their place of abode. 
Here the father of our subject conducts a boot 
and shoe store and does repair work also. Po- 
litically he is a stalwart Democrat and re- 
ligiously both he and his wife are earnest and 
consistent members of the Lutheran church. 
To this worthy couple have been born fourteen 
children, those still living being Eda, Bertha, 
Anna, MoUie, Maria, Otto J., Carl, Ernest 
and Eddie. 

Otto J. Rahn was eighteen months old when 
l)rought by his parents to the United States and 
he accompanied them on their various removals 
during his boyhood and youth. He attended 
school in Decatur, Nebraska, and Onawa and 
Whiting, Iowa, and received a good practical 
education. For several years he has devoted his 
time and attention to harness-making and 
opened his present shop in Smithland in 1902. 
By fair and honorable dealing he has built up 
a good trade which is constantly increasing and 
he well merits the confidence and trust reposed 
in him. 

On the 2d of February, 1902, Mr. Rahn mar- 
ried ]\riss Kate Gambs, who was born in Smith- 
land, June 1, 1884, and was here reared and 
educated. Her father, Peter Gambs, is one of 
the oldest settlers and business men of Smith- 
land and is now living upon his farm near 
that place. By his ballot Mr. Rahn supports 
the men and measures of the Republican party, 
and in his social relations is connected with 
the Modern Woodmen of America. 



FRANK CLARK. 



Frank Clark, who is engaged in the livery 
business in Correctionville, was born upon the 
old home farm at Birkenbog, Banffshire, Scot- 
land, a son of William and Mary (Runcie) 
Clark, who were also natives of that country. 
The father was born in the parish of Kind Ed- 
ward and became a farmer, owning and operat- 
ing a tract of laud of two hundred and forty 



416 



PAST AND I'KKSKNT OF \V()(.L)BL"KY COUNTY 



acres. His fatlu'r, Jauii'S ( 'lark, was also a iia- 
tivL' of tlie eouiitv oi Baiift', and in the i)ari.-;i 
of Alvah, in that county, occurreil the birHi 
of Frank Kuucic, the maternal grandfather. 

Frank Clark was educated in Scotland, at 
tending the conunon schools of his parish and 
after putting aside his text-books he worked 
vipon the home farm imtil twenty-four years of 
age, when he came to the United States, sailing 
from Glasgow, April 15, 1892. lie landed at 
]^ew York on the 23d of April, and soon made 
his way westward to ]\Iinnesota, where he spent 
several years and also visited other jiarts of 
the west, being engaged in the stock l)usiness, 
which he followed with fair success. In 1!M);] 
he came to "Woodbury county and in Correct ion- 
ville purchased the livery business of W. il. 
Parker. He has since conducted his barn, in 
which he keeps good horses and a fine line of 
carriages, and he has prospered during his resi- 
dence here. 

In his political views ^Ir. Clark is a stanch 
Republican and he cast his first ju-esidential 
vote for William ^IcKiidey after liecoming a 
naturalized American citizen. He belongs to 
Adelphi Lodge, Xo. :353. A. F. .V A. :\1., of 
Keota, Iowa, which he joined in l'.i02. 



M. L. GARBEE. 



M. L. Garber, one of the honored veterans of 
the Civil war now living on section 13, Ked- 
ron township, was born in Logan county, Ohio, 
January 8, 1842. His father, John Garber, 
was a native of West Virginia and removed to 
Ohio at an early period in the development of 
Logan county. There he was married to iliss 
Mary Rife, a native of Virginia, and in 1848 
they i-emoved with their family to Iowa, set- 
tling in Clayton count}-, where the work of im- 
provement and progress had scarcely been be- 
gun at that time. They located upon a farm 
and there Mr. Garber carried on agricultural 
pursuits and reared his family. Subsequently 
he went to Kansas upon a visit and died while 



in that state. His wife survived for only about 
two years. 

.M. L. Garber was a little lad of six summers 
when he accompanied his parents on their re- 
moval to this state and on the old homestead in 
Clayton county he was reared and educated, at- 
tending the select schools there. He was about 
twenty years of age when in response to the 
country's call for troops he enlisted on the 
20th cif August, 1862, as a member of Com- 
pany D, Twenty-seventh Iowa Volunteer In- 
fantry. He went north first to fight the In- 
dians and later the regiment was ordered to 
the soutli and joined the army of the Cum- 
berland. With this conunand Mr. Garber 
served until the close of the war. He was then 
mustered out and was honorably discharged at 
Clinton, Iowa, in Aiigust, 1865. He had par- 
ticipated in a number of important engage- 
ments, including the battles of Pleasant Hill, 
( )]d ( )ak, Xasliville. Franklin and the siege of 
Mobile, and he was promoted from the ranks 
to orderly sergeant. He never faltered in the 
performance fif any duty and his valor was 
displayed on many a hotly contested field. 

When the country no longer needed his serv- 
ices Mr. Garber returned to Clayton county, 
Iowa, and in 1866 he went to California, where 
he was engaged in mining until April, 1869, 
meeting with fair success in his undertakings 
there. On the expiration of that period he re- 
turned to Clayton county and was married there 
on the 24th of December, 1873, to Miss Sarah 
]\I. Fitch, a native of Virginia, who became a 
resident of Iowa when a maiden of nine sum- 
mers and spent her girlhood days in this state. 

After his marriage Mr. Garber engaged in 
farming in Clayton county for several years 
and then remnvcd to Webster coimty, Nebras- 
ka, where he purchased a homestead claim and 
carried on farming for five years. On the ex- 
])iration of that period, however, he secured his 
]iroperty there and once nmrc went to Clay- 
ton county. He was with his father in his 
store for three or four vcars and in 1887 he 





MK. AND MES. M. L. GAEBER. 



PAST AND riiESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



419 



came to Woodbury county, purchasing a farm 
in Kedron towusliip. Tliis he cultivated for 
two or three years and on selling that proi^erty 
he purchased his present farm on section 13, 
Kedrou townshijj, comjirising one hundred aud 
twenty acres of well improved land. He raises 
good grades of stock and also harvests rich crops 
for his productive fields yield a good return 
for the care aud labor he bestows upon them. 
He gives his political allegiance to the Rojjubli- 
can party, having been a stanch advocate of its 
principles since casting his first presidential 
vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. He was 
elected and served as township trustee for four 
years and was county supervisor for six years 
and is now a member and secretary of the 
school board. He has been a delegate to a num- 
ber of county conventions and does all in his 
power to advance the interests of the county n\u\ 
promote the success of his party. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Garber have been born 
four children who are yet living: H. F., who 
is employed as a clerk in Anthon ; William H., 
who is clerking in Correctionville ; George R., 
who is a merchant at Diamond Center, Iowa; 
and Maude, who is also clerking in Correction- 
ville. They also had six children who died in 
infancy, namely, Charlie, George, Lester and 
Leslie, twins. Tod and Efiie. Mr. Garber is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity, identified 
with Correctionville lodge and he is also con- 
nected with the Grand Army of the JRepuMic. 
He is a man of unquestioned probity, rel' abil- 
ity and activity in business, and in citizenship 
he is as true and loyal as he was when a sol- 
dier in the south defending the Union cause. 



CHARLES C. XUESSLE. 

Charles C. !N"uessle, Avhose intelligent admin- 
istration of public affairs and whose well di- 
rected activity in business life have proven fac- 
tors in the city's development and sulistantial 
pn igress, was born in IN'orth Boston, 'New York. 



•lauuary 4, ISGO. He is a son of John aud Ann 
(Beyer) Xuessle, both of whom were natives 
of Germany and came to America when about 
fourteen years of age. The father learned the 
millwright's trade aud followed that pursuit 
throughout his active business career. Both he 
aud his wife are yet living in Hamburg, ]S^e^\• 
York. At the time of the Civil war he became 
a member of the Union Army and thus proved 
his loyalty to his adopted land, but Avas rejected 
on account of his eyesight. 

Charles C. Xuessle sujjplemented his early 
education by study in the Hamburg Academy 
at Hamburg, Xew York. He also spent one 
year in the Buffalo Business College and was 
graduated at the age of twenty-one years. He 
afterward learned the miller's trade and in 
1890 he went to Eremont, Nebraska, where he 
accepted the position of bookkeeper for the Chi- 
cago Lumber Company. In the winter of the 
same year, however, he removed to Sioux City 
and entered the emi^loy of the Martin Brothers 
Milling Company as a miller, continuing in 
that service for two years. In 1892 he came 
to Leeds, an addition to Sioux City, and em- 
barked in the hotel business, conducting the 
Beck Hotel for five years, or until 1897, when 
he sold out. He had been very successful in 
that enterprise and made considerable money. 
In 1897 he entered into the foundry business 
with E. M. Stevens under the name of the Pio- 
neer Stove «fc Repair Foundry. At the end of 
the first year they had a disastrous fire, losing 
almost everything invested. With characteris- 
tic enery, however, they resumed business, in 
which they continued together for four years, 
when Mr. Xuessle purchased his partner's in- 
terest and has since been alone in the conduct 
of what is now one of the leading industrial en- 
terprises of Sioux City. He employs on an 
average of seven men throughout the year and 
carries on a general foundry and jobbing busi- 
ness. He has excellent mechanical skill and 
ingenuity, is sagacious and far-siglited in view- 
ing any business situation, and in the control 



-120 



I'AST AND PKESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



of his varied interests disjjlays marked ei\ter- 
prise and diligence. 

]\[r. Xuessle was married on the 2d of Ue- 
lober, IS'Jl, to Miss Emma Beek, a daughter 
of Christopher Beck, who is a retired farmer, 
residing in Leeds, and who fur a half century 
has been a resident id' A\'o(idliiu-_v enunty. They 
have one child, Anna, who was Imrn July 2."i, 
1892. 

Mr. Xiiessle is a Mason, belonging to Land- 
mark Lodge, No. 103, A. F. & A. M. He also 
belongs to Alliance kodge, Xo. 53:!, I. (). (). P., 
of Sioux City. He has l>een prominent and 
influential in public affairs and has left the im- 
press of his individuality upon the development 
and progress of Woodbury county and especially 
the county seat. In Alarch, lii02, he was elected 
alderman of Sioux City from the eighth 
ward by a plurality of sixty-nine and was re- 
elected in !March, 1904, by a plurality of sixty- 
seven, carrying his ward Avhen it gave a Demo- 
cratic majority for the mayoralty, a fact which 
indicates his personal popularity and the confi- 
dence and trust rejiosed in him by those who 
know him best. During his first term in office 
he was instrumental in promoting many mu- 
niripal interests that brought about needed 
changes in Leeds, including the introduction 
of electric lights, the appointing of a fire sta- 
tion with a hose cart, the building of gravel 
sidewalks, the securing of a garbage wagon for 
the ward and other acts, the value of which 
have been demonstrated and which have re- 
ceived the endorsement of the entire commun- 
ity. During his first term with the Republican 
mayor in tlie chair and the majority of alder-- 
men of the same j^olitical faith Mr. Nnessle 
served as chairman of the police and public 
library committees and was a member of the 
committees on streets, paving, health, fire, rail- 
roads and public grounds. During the present 
administration he is serving as chairman of 
the imblic lilirary and public markets commit- 
tees and is a member of the committees on 
streets, alleys and bridges, railroads and public 



grounds. He gives careful consideration to 
ench question which comes up for settlement 
in the council and his public service is char- 
acterized by unfaltering support of every meas- 
ure which he deems will prove beneficial to the 
community. He has never faltered in his alle- 
guuice to th.e Kepublican party, but always 
jilaces the general welfare before partisanship. 
He was reared in the faith of the German 
Lutheran church and in the city where he makes 
his home is known as a man of broad principle, 
high character and of commendable purpose, 
winning the respect of all in social, business and 
]ii)litieal life. 



WILLIAM L). SICKELS. 

William D. Sickels, who is engaged in the 
livery business in Moville and conducts a dray 
line, has also been active in the public and 
political interests of the town. He is a native 
of Schiiyler county, Isew York, his birth hav- 
ing there occurred in 1865, and Avhen he was 
four years of age he was brought to Iowa by 
his parents, the family home being established 
on a farm in Black Hawk county. There he 
was reai'cd to manhood, and in the public 
schools he acquired his education, while on the 
old homestead he received practical training 
in agricultural pursuits. He afterward fol- 
lowed groiind work and tiling for about three 
years, and in 1887 be came to Woodbury county, 
loAva, settling seven miles southeast of Moville. 
There he followed farming until 1892, when 
he purchased the livery barn which he is now 
conducting. He also has a dray line, and does 
considerable teaming here, while his stable is 
accorded a good patronage, thus making his 
business a j^rofitable one. 

In 1893 Mr. Sickels was united in marriage 
to Miss Emma Andrews, a daughter of Z. An- 
drews, one of the honored pioneer settlers of 
the countv. Three children have been bom 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WUOUBURY COUNTY 



421 



unto Mr. and Mrs. Sickels: Reva, Lota and 
Myrtle. 

In his fraternal relations Mr. Sickels is an 
Odd Fellow and also a Knight of Pythias. His 
political supjDort has always been given the 
Republican party, and he keeps well informed 
on the questions and issues of the day. He has 
served as constable for tweh-e or thirteen years, 
was also city marshal for a number of years 
and for three years filled the position of deputy 
sheriff, and thus he has done his full share to 
maintain law and order, and whether in office 
or out i)f it, he works for good citizenship and 
for the substantial progress of his community. 



PATRICK MADDEN. 

Patrick Madden has now passed the seventy- 
sixth milestone on life's journey and an honor- 
able, useful and active career entitles him to 
representation in this volume, as well as the 
fact that he is numbered among the early set- 
tlers of Woodbury county. He was born March 
17, 1828. His paternal grandfather was Dan- 
iel Madden, of County Galway, Ireland. His 
father, William Madden, emigrated from the 
Emerald isle to jSTew Brunswick about the year 
1841 and there spent his remaining days, his 
death occurring in 1860, when he was seventy- 
seven years of age. His wife, who liore the 
maiden name of Ella Donlan, was born in 
County Roscommon, Ireland, and died in iSTew 
Brunswick, at the age of eighty years. There 
were eight children in their family : William, 
Daniel, Ann, Patrick, Margaret, John, Bridget 
and Richard. Three of the number are now 
deceased. 

Patrick Madden spent the first thirteen years 
of his life on the Green Ise of Erin and then 
accompanied his parents on their emigration to 
New Brunswick. He remained at home until 
twenty-six years of age and then went to St. 
Johns, where he remained until thirty-six years 
of age, when he came to Iowa, arriving in Sioux 



City in July, 1868. He settled four miles 
north of the county seat, where he lived for 
fourteen years, carrying on general agricultural 
pursuits. On the expiration of that period he 
removed to Hornick, where he has now re- 
mained for twenty-three years. When he ar- 
rived at Sioux City there was but one brick 
building on the levee and the work of improve- 
ment had not been begun in several districts 
which are now thickly populated or are im- 
portant business centers. Much of the land in 
the county was still raw and unimproved, roads 
had not been laid out, streams were unbridged 
and the homes of the settlers were very widely 
scattered. Pioneer conditions existed and the 
farmers had to meet many difficulties in trans- 
forming the raw prairie into richly cultivated 
farms. Mr. Madden was the first settler of 
Hornick. He selected the dryest land he could 
find, purchasing two hundred acres, and later 
he liought more land in Monona county. Soon 
even the swamp or low land had been cultivated 
tiy the incoming settlers. Mr. Madden carried 
on the work of general farming and stock-rais- 
ing, cultivated his fields in accordance with 
modern agricultural methods, and as time 
passed rich harvests brought to him the success 
for which he was striving. He also realized 
considerable profit from his stock. To his sons 
he gave his farms, which are valuable and un- 
der a high state of cultivation. 

]\Ir. Madden was married on the 6th of !May, 
1843, to Miss Ann McManus, a daughter of 
Michael and Dorothy (IMontgomery) McManus, 
who were from County Fermanagh, Ireland. 
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Madden were born eight 
sons and four daughters: Michael, Jane, John, 
William, Margaret, Andrew, Daniel, Mont- 
gomery, James, Catherine, Lizzie and Thomas. 
Of these Michael, the eldest, died at the age 
of twenty years and seven months. Jane, now 
forty-six years of age, married Michael Dunn 
and has three children, two sons and a daughter: 
Anna, who was born September 6, 1888; Jo- 
seph M., born March 19, 1889 ; and Mary 



432 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBrHY COUNTY 



Margaret, born October 14, 1891. John Mad- 
den, forty-five years of age, is a farmer living 
in Monona county. William is living in Sioux 
City, at the age of forty-four. Margaret, for- 
ty-two years of age, is the wife of P. C. Conly, 
of Superior, Wisconsin, and has four children. 
Andrew, forty-one years of age, is living in 
Hornick. Daniel, aged thirty-nine, is propri- 
etor of the Commercial Hotel of Hornick. 
Montgomery, who was married October 16, 
1901, follows farming in Monona county. 
James is living on the Boyd farm in Willow 
township, Woodbury county, and was married 
in October, 1900, and has one child, Jnanita A. 
Catherine and Elizabeth are at home. Thomas, 
born March 23, 1883, assists in the operation 
of the home farm. The family are all members 
of the Catholic church and are noted in the 
community for their uprightness of character. 
The parents celebrated their golden wedding 
May 6, 1903. They live in a comfortable 
home, with many of their children and grand- 
children around them, and they are now enjoy- 
ing many of the comforts and luxuries of life 
as the result of their perseverance and indiistrv 
in former vears. 



MRS. MAEY K. IIACY. 

It is not only the men of a Cdnununity who 
are its upbuilders and ])r(im(.)ters, for the wom- 
en have borne their part in the work of prog- 
ress and imjjrovemcnt and especially the ]iio- 
neer women of the west. Among this class 
Mrs. Hagy is nundicrcd and for many years 
she was well known as proprietress of a hotel, 
conducting a hostelry in the early days of Sioux 
City, when this was largely a frontier settle- 
ment. For many years she continued in the 
business and her untiring industry and efforts 
brought her success. As the years advanced she 
invested in real estate, becoming the owner of 
valuable property. She is indeed M-idcly and 
favorablv known in Woodburv county and well 



deserves mention in this history. Mrs. Hagy 
was born in Canada on the 26th of January, 
1835, and is a daughter of Moses J. and Emily 
(Rogers) Post. Her father was a Baptist min- 
ister and was the first preacher of that denom- 
ination ordained in Iowa. He came to this 
state in 1841, locating in Rochester, and for 
several years devoted his time and efforts to 
advancing the moral development of this por- 
tion of the country, but his useful and honor- 
able life was terminated at the comparatively 
early age of thirty-six years, he being called to 
his final rest in 1848. His wife still survives 
liiiii and has now reached the very advanced 
age of ninety-two years. 

Mrs. Hagy sjient her girlhood days in her 
parents' home, was brought by them to Iowa 
when it was still a territory and was largely an 
luisettled region, the work of progress and civil- 
ization having scarcely been begun in many dis- 
tricts of the commonwealth. Much of the land 
was still in its primitive condition, the rivers 
were iinbridged, the forests uncut and every- 
thing was just as it came from the hand of na- 
ture. When sixteen years of age Mary E. Post 
gave her hand in marriage to John Hagy, the 
wedding being celebrated at Pella, Iowa, in 
18.")1. He was a building contractor and in 
185(1 he drove from Pella to Sioux City, arriv- 
ing here in the month of September. He found 
a pioneer village, which, however, was entering 
upon a period of ra])id and substantial growth. 
He established a hotel, which he conducted for 
eight years. ^Irs. Hagv then liad a lialiy only 
four months old, yet she did all the cooking 
and washing at the hotel for the first year, and 
the amount of labor is indicated somewhat l)y 
the fact that she used an entire sack of flo\ir 
in making bread every day. The hotel was a 
log lionse, containing ten rooms. After two 
years they removed to the old Tremont House 
and subseqtiently condxicted the Hagy house for 
six years or uinil a lot at the corner of Sixth 
and Pierce street was jnirchased and there Mrs. 
naii\- condncteil a boardina: house for twentv- 



•^m 






MRS. MAEY E. HAGY. 



PAST AND PRESENT OP WOODBURY COUNTY 



427 



three years. She always received a good pat- 
ronage for she not only set an excellent table, 
but made every eifort to promote the welfare 
and comfort of her gnests, and as the years 
passed she prospered in her work. In 1887 she 
built a fine home at No. 1211 Pierce street, 
which she now occupies. Mr. Hagy died 
July 27, 1901, at the age of seventy-nine years. 
Mrs. Hagy had five children: Charles, who 
died at the age of nine months ; William C, who 
is married and lives in Sioux City; Matilda, 
the wife of George Smith, who died in 1882; 
Emily, who died at the age of four years ; and 
Georgia A., the wife of E. E. Selmser, a real 
estate agent of Sioux City. Mrs. Hagy is the 
only living charter member of the Baptist 
church. She has thus been long identified with 
Christian work here and all who know her en- 
tertain for her the highest regard for what she 
has accomplished in the business world and for 
her many excellent traits of character. 



OTTO EDWARD JACOBSOX. 

Otto Edward Jacobson, editor and proprietor 
of the Svenska Monitoren, the only Swedish pa- 
per jjublished in Iowa, at this writing (1904), 
came to the new world when a young man of 
twenty-one years and his home has since been 
in the middle west. Through the intervening 
period he has utilized his opportunities to ex- 
cellent advantage and while promoting his in- 
dividual interests through the business of con- 
ducting an enterprising journal for his fellow 
countrymen, he has also advocated all meas- 
ures for the general good and has had more 
than local influence in making the Swedish- 
American element a valued one in the citizen- 
ship of the state. 

Mr. Jacobson was born in Sweden, in 1866, 
attended the common schools of his native town 
and afterward entered a school for the training 
of florists. He spent two years there, gaining 
thorough knowledge of the work, and then em- 



barked in business at Norrkoping, Sweden, 
where he remained for two years. He crossed 
the Atlantic in 1887, when twenty-one years of 
age, and made his way to Omaha, Nebraska, 
where his brother, Carl A. Jacobson, was liv- 
ing. It was his intention to spend a six 
months' vacation in visiting his brother and 
then return to his native country, but becoming 
convinced of the superiority of the advantages 
oti'ered by America, over those of the old world, 
he decided to remain. He went into business 
with his brother, who was proprietor of the 
Svenska Posten, a Swedish paper, with which 
our subject was connected for four years. In 
1891 he came to Sioux Citj' and organized the 
Swedish American Press, having as his asso- 
ciates in the enterprise Charles Sandstrom and 
Jacob Vatters. x\fter six months Mr. Jacob- 
son retired and within another six months the 
paper ceased to exist. On withdrawing from 
that journal Mr. Jacobson established a job 
office, which he conducted until 1895, when he 
began the publication of the Svenska Monitoren, 
which is the only Swedish paper in the state. 
It is a weekly, six-column cpiarto, all home 
print, with a good advertising pati'onage and 
a large subscription list. The subscription price 
of the i^aper is a dollar and a half. It is Re- 
publican in politics and its influence was given 
in sujjport of President McKinley in 1896 and 
at the following election in 1900. A portion of 
the jjaper is devoted to local news, as well as to 
the discussion of political questions and church 
interests, and it has become a potent element 
for progress and improvement. 

In 1895 Mr. Jacobson was married to Miss 
Edith Charlotte Carlstrom, a daughter of Swan 
and Ida Carlstrom. She was born in Sweden 
in 1875 and came here when nine years of 
age. She is a member of the Swedish Lutheran 
church. Mr. Jacobson is a member of the 
Swedish Monitor Society, of which his paper 
is the ofiicial organ and he is connected with the 
K. O. T. M., No. 69, and also belongs to the 
uniform rank of the same order. In his polit- 



428 



PAST AND PKES'KNT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



ical views he is a Rejjiiblican, and in other lines, 
as well as through political activity, he labors 
untiringly to promote the best elements of good 
government, being a most loyal son of his 
adopted land. 



E. F. BARE. 



E. F. Bare, a farmer on section 27, Knthuul 
township, has for almost a half century been a 
resident of Iowa and since 1887 has lived in 
Woodbury county, where he is known as a 
worthy citizen, taking an interested and help- 
ful part in all movements for the general prog- 
ress and upbuilding of his portion of the state. 
In business aifairs, too, he is found reliable, 
never taking advantage of the necessities of his 
fellow men in any trade transaction. He was 
born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, Decem- 
ber 5, 1855, and is a son of Solomon Bare, a 
native of Pennsylvania, also born in Somerset 
county about the year 1828. After attaining to 
man's estate he was married in Pennsylvania to 
Miss Mary Flegal, also a native of the Key- 
stone state. By trade he was a carpenter and 
joiner and in early life was thus identified with 
industrial pursuits. After the birth of two of 
his children he brought his family to Iowa in 
1855, locating in Lyon county, where he en- 
gaged in the cultivation of a rented farm for 
several years. He afterward removed to Jones 
coimty, where he bought a tract of land and de 
veloped a new farm, tipon which he reared his 
family. At a still later date he sold that prop- 
erty and came to Woodbury county, purchasing 
one hundred and sixty acres of land. This he 
began to cultivate and improve and continued 
to make the place his home until his death, 
which occtired in 1805, when he was sixty-seveii 
years of age. His wife survives him and re- 
sides upon the old homestead, enjoying good 
health for one of advanced years. 

E. F. Bare was largely reared in Jones coun- 
ty, Iowa, the duties of the farm early becoming 



familiar t(.i liim as he assisted in the labors of 
field and meadow. He had fair common school 
advantages and through observation and ex- 
perience in later years has added largely to 
his knowledge. After his marriage he engaged 
in farming on his own account in Jones coun- 
ty for several years and in 1887 he came to 
Woodbury county and rented a tract of land for 
two years. With the capital he had saved from 
his own earnings he then bought a farm in 
Cherokee county, continuing its cultivation for 
four years, when he sold out and bought the 
old homestead farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres, which had previously belonged to his 
father. He has since carried on its further 
cultivation and improvement and has also ex- 
tended the boundaries of his place by the pur- 
chase of an additional tract of eighty acres. 
He has here built a large and substantial barn 
and in connection with the raising of grain 
best adajjted to the soil and climate he is also 
engaged in the raising, buying and selling of 
stock. He is an excellent judge of horses and 
cattle and his purchases and sales have been 
judiciously made so that he has realized a good 
return from his investment. His farm is well 
fenced and there is a neat residence around 
which are found evergreen and ornamental 
trees. His grove is of his o'wn planting and, 
in fact, many of the improA'ements upon the 
place are his work and indicate that his life 
has indeed been an active and useful one. 

Mr. Bare was married in Cedar county, Iowa, 
January 14, 1877, to Miss Emma Mason, who 
was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, a daughter 
of Thomas and Jane (Hedges) Mason, both 
natives of that state. In 1866 they removed 
to Iowa, settling first in Lynn county and after- 
^vard in Cedar county where Mr. Mason pur- 
chased land and engaged in farming. There 
his death occurred in 1902. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bare have five sons: Charles, who is now liv- 
ing in Idaho : Bert, at home ; Arthur, a resident 
of Spokane, Washington ; Willis and Eddie. 
The parents hold membership in the Evangeli- 




E. F. BARE AND FAMILY. 



PAST AND PKE.SKNT Oi-" WUODBUKY COUA'TY 



431 



cal (-hurcL and Mr. Bare votes with the Re- 
publican ijarty. He has a wide acquaintance 
in Sioux City and the northeastern part of 
Woodbury county and tlie many excellent traits 
of his character have gained for him the good 
will and respect of his fellow men, so that he 
is well worthy of representation in this volume 
as one of the leading citizens and prominent 
farmers of iLUtland townshij). 



JAMES HUTCHINS. 

James Hutchins, a retired merchant of Sioux 
City, was born in Bath, Somersetshire, En- 
gland, on the 19th of [November, 1831. His 
father, James Hutchins, was a son of William 
and Edith Hutchins and was baptized March 2, 
1788, in Wiltshire, in the diocese of Saram, 
England. He married Elizabeth Mann and 
through the greater part of his business career 
conducted a general store. His death occurred 
in England in 1839, when he was tifty years 
of age, and his wife also passed away in that 
country. 

James Hutchins acquired his education in 
the common schools of his native city and when 
eleven years of age began learning the tailor's 
trade, which he followed in England until 1851. 
He then, at the age of nineteen years, crossed 
the Atlantic to Xew York city, where he se- 
cured a clerkship in a merchant-tailoring estab- 
lishment owned by his brother, William Hutch- 
ins. In 1856 he came to Iowa, settling first 
at Dubuque, and afterward he removed to 
Winona, Minnesota, where he was employed as 
a cutter in a tailor shop. In the spring of 
1857 he returned to Dubuque, Iowa, where he 
made up a party to come west, being associated 
in this enterprise with Amos Parker, A. Saun- 
ders and his brother. They had two yoke of 
cattle and were three weeks in making the trip 
across the state to Sioux City, arriving here 
in the early spring of 1857. They had to go 
throuii'h five miles of water on the bottoms near 



Sergeant's Bluffs. Mr. Hutchins established 
a tailor shoij and continued in that business 
until 1867, when he turned his attention to 
the hardware business, becoming a member of 
the firm of Collamer & Hutchins. Mr. Colla- 
mcr died in 19Ul'. In 1869 he retired from 
active business and has since largely enjoyed 
a well merited rest. He has, however, been ap- 
pointed by the court several times as assignee. 
He was assessor for one term and served for 
three years as a member of the city council. In 
all jmblic atfairs pertaining to the welfare and 
progress of his community he takes a deep and 
abiding interest and his labors have proved ef- 
fective in promoting the general good. 

On October 22, 1860, Mr. Hutchins waa 
united in marriage to Miss Rebecca H. Dennis, 
a daughter of Jeremiah Dennis, a native oi 
Xew Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins hold 
membership in the First Presbyterian chiirch 
of Sioux City. They spent the winter of 
1903-± in California, greatly enjoying their 
stay in that balmy state. Mr. Hutchins is a 
[Mason, having been made a member of the 
order on the 21st of June, 1854. He is, there- 
fore, one of the oldest Masons in this part of the 
state, only two others now living having been 
connected for so long with the organization, 
and throughout his entire life he has lived in 
harmony with the teachings of the craft. His 
political allegiance is given to the Republican 
l^arty, but he has held and sought few positions, 
preferring to do his duty to his city, state and 
country as a private citizen. He has for many 
years resided here, watching with interest the 
progress and development of this city and bear- 
ing an active and helpful part in many meas- 
ures for the ffeneral srood. 



JAMES E. MADGLIlSr. 

James E. Madglin, a progressive and enter- 
prising citizen of Smithland, is now conducting 
a barber shop and pool room at that place and 



432 



PAST AND riJESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



also deals in ciiiars, tubaceo, etc. lie is a na- 
tive of soutlieni Illinois, born in Anna, Union 
c'onnty, on the 22d of Feliruary, 1873, his 
]iaroiits lu'inii' William H. ami Xam-v (Shirk) 
Mailiilin, wlio were of German descent. For 
some years the father was engaged in farming 
in Missouri, in which state he died in 1885, at 
the age of fifty-five years. His wife still sur- 
vives him and makes her home in Nevada, Mis- 
sotiri, at the age of sixty-one years. 

Mr. Madglin of this review acquired his ed- 
ucation in tlic [luhlic schools and in early life 
learned the liarher's trade in ^Missouri, whither 
th(.' family removed in 1S92. In 18iiT he was 
united in marriage to Miss Alice SjiendriflF, 
who is of English descent, and they have be- 
come the parents of two children, namely: 
Ralph, who was born January 16, 1898; and 
Ward, born March 20, 1903. 

Coming to Smithland on the 1st of ^larch, 
19(1."., ^Ir. ]\ladglin ojicueil a barlier shop of his 
own, with two chairs, and has since followed 
his trade with good success. In his establish- 
ment he also has two pool tallies and one bil- 
liard table and receives a liberal patronage 
along that line and as a dealer in cigars and 
tobacco. He is an enterprising, energetic busi- 
ness man and although his residence in Smith- 
land is of short duration he has ah-eady made 
niMuy friend- among those whom he meets 
either iu a Imsiness or social waj'. By his bal- 
lot he supports the men and measures of the 
Republican party but lakes no active part in 
politics aside from voting. He is of a genial, 
jovial disposition and therefore well liked by 
all who know him. He is a member of the 
^lodern Woodmen of America. 



:\IATT MARKUSEN. 

In viewing the mass of mankind in the 
varied occupations of life the conclusion is 
forced upon the observer that in the vast ma- 
jority of cases men have sought employment 



not in the line of I heir peculiar fitness but in 
those places where ca]irice or circumstance have 
forced them, thus explaining tlu' reason of the 
failure of ninety-five per cent of those who 
enter commercial and professional circles. 
Others, however, have dii-ected their efforts into 
channels wherein their labors have been re- 
sultant factors in winning success and they 
have through honorable business methods and 
untiring activity advanced steadily from hum- 
ble surroundings to positions of attiuence. Such 
has lieen the career of ^Ir. ^Markusen who is 
now living retii'cd in Correctionville. He was 
in former years, however, a prosperous farm- 
er and afterward a leading bitsiness man of 
Correctionville. He is numbered among the 
early settlers of the state for he arrived in 
Iowa about 1SG9 and since 1880 he has lived 
in Woodbury county. 

^Ir. ^larkusen is a native of JJennuirk, born 
November 25, 1848. He was reared to man- 
hood thei'e and was educated in both the Ger- 
man and iJanish tongues. His knowdedge of 
English, however, has been acquired since he 
came to the new Avorld. In his native land, 
however, he learned of business conditions in 
x\merica, of the opjiort unities here afforded 
and of the privileges one might enjoy in the 
new world and accordingly became imbued 
with a desire to establish his home on this side 
of the Atlantic. Making preparations for such 
a course he took ship at Copenhagen for New 
York and thence made his way direct west- 
ward to Da\enport, Iowa, where he joined 
friends in the year 1869. While residing in 
Scott county he w-orked as a farm hand and 
also engaged in farming to some extent on his 
own account and likewise did contract work 
in railroad construction. About 1880 he re- 
moved to Woodbury county where he invested 
his earnings in land and turned his attention 
to agricultural pursuits. He bought, improved 
and sold a number of farms and abotit 1900 
he removed to Correctionville, where he built 
a li'ood residence and has since made his home 




:\[KS. ilATT MAEKUSEN. 




.MATT .MAKKTSKX. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



437 



here. He was engaged in iiiercliaudising for two 
years in the town and was also in the butcher- 
ing business for one year. He also ■ promoted 
and formed a company for the manufacture of 
dry pressed brick in 1902. This company is 
composed of practical business men who have 
already constructed two kilns and have every- 
thing in readiness for the active conduct of the 
business during the season of 1904. Mr. Mar- 
kusen has built and owns two houses in Correc- 
tionville and has aided materially in the im- 
provement and substantial progress of this 
place and of Woodbury county. 

In Davenjoort in 1874 occurred the marriage 
of Mr. ]\Iarkusen and Mrs. Helen Michelson, 
a native of Germany. They traveled life's 
journey happily together for about twenty-three 
years and then the wife was called to her final 
rest, passing away in 1897. There were three 
children by that marriage : Marie, now the 
wife of Henry Gulifort, a farmer of this 
county ; Augusta, who is the wife of Arch Wil- 
liams, of Correctionville, by whom she has two 
children — Estella and Irene ; and Martha, who 
is now a capable and well known teacher in 
the public schools of Denver, Colorado. iMr. 
Markusen was again married in Sioux City, 
Iowa, in April, 1902, his second union being 
with Mrs. Ella (Browncll) Pattei'son, a native 
of ISTew York, who was reared and educated 
there. Her children are Pearl, who is married 
and has four children ; Winnie, who is married 
and lives in Denver; and Chnrles, a resident 
of Lemars, Iowa. 

In his pdlitical views IMr. ^larkusen is a 
l>emoerat, but has never souglit or held office, 
preferring to give his attention to his extensive 
linsiness interests. He was reared in the 
T.ntlieran faith, but he and his wife are now 
members of the Congregational church. He 
belongs to the Masonic fraternity, being a 
Master Mason of Correctionville lodge. He 
may well be termed one of the most prominent 
and progressive residents of Correctionville, for 
he has been the promoter of some of its leading 



business enterprises. His connection with an 
undertaking insures a prosperous outcome of 
the same, for it is in his nature to carry for- 
ward to successfid completion whatever he is 
associated with. He has earned for himself 
an excellent reputation as a carefid man of 
business and in his work is known for his 
tlioiMughness, enterprise and honorable meth- 
ods which have gained for him the unbounded 
confidence of his fello^vmen. 



JAY BRANAUM. 



Jay Branaum, who is engaged in merchan- 
dising at Lucky Yalley and is one of the enter- 
prising young business men of Woodbury 
county, was born in the to\\m of Claremont, 
Ottawa county, Missouri, July 26, 1869. In 
1877, when about eight years of age, he accom- 
panied his parents to Brown county, Kansas, 
where they are still living. He was reared un- 
der the parental roof, acquired his preliminary 
education in the common school, and thus be- 
came well equipped by advanced mental train- 
ing for the practical and resjaonsible duties of 
a business career. 

Mr. Branaum continued to make his home in 
Kansas until 1891, when he came to Woodbui-y 
county, Iowa, and rented a tract of land not 
far from Hornick. There he carried on general 
agricultural pursuits for three years. On the 
4th of March, 1892, he was united in marriage 
to ]\riss ^finnie E. Jennings, the second daugh- 
ter of Benjamin F. and Mary E. Jennings, the 
former now deceased. A sketch of her father's 
family is given on another page of this work. 
After his marriage Mr. Branaum removed to 
the Jennings farm, one mile west of Hornick 
and there he continued to engage in general 
agriciiltural pursuits Tintil about 1897, when 
he left the farm and turned his attention to 
merchandising in Lucky Yalley. He conducted 
his store for six vears and then suffered its loss 



438 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



through tire on the 31st of August, 1903. He 
is now engaged in clerking. 

Mr. Branaum is a Republican in his political 
views and keeps well informed concerning the 
qtiestions and issues of the day, but has never 
been an office seeker, content to do his public 
duty as a private citizen. He has now lived 
in Iowa for thirteen years and during that 
period has made steady progress in the business 
world througli his indefatigable energy and per- 
severance. 



MR. AND Mi:S. JOHX J. LESSEXICH. 

Mr. and ^Irs. John J. Lessenich, residents of 
Sioux City, have for many years resided in 
Woodbury county and northwestern Iowa. ^Ir. 
Lessenich was born in Cologne, Germany, No- 
vember 28, 1826, a son of Englebert and Mary 
(Olert) Lessenich, who spent their entire lives 
in that country. Their son John is the only 
one of their children now living. He came to 
America in 1854, arriving at Xew York on the 
29th of September, and there he was employed 
for seven months, after whicli he made his way 
to Chicago, and later to Geneseo, Illinois. 
There he was married on the 17th of April, 
1S61, to Mary Kuliri. 

!Mrs. Lessenich, Avho has been a resident of 
the new world since 1S.">.5, was born in Alsace. 
Germany, ]May 31, 1S40, a daughter of Michael 
and ilagdalena Kuhri. Her father died in the 
year 1849, when she was but nine years of age. 
but the mother long survived and passed away 
in February, 18T8. On coming to the Ignited 
States !Mrs. Lessenich located in TVheaton, Illi- 
nois, whence she afterward removed to Gen- 
eseo, that state. Five children were born of 
the marriage: Anna Josephine, who is now 
the wife of Charles Selzer. a resident of Sioux 
City; John F., Mho is manager of the Chicago 
Hotel ; ^lary L.. who died at the age of four- 
teen vears ; Leonard, who conducts the (^hicago 



saloon of Sioux City; and Emma E., the wife 
of Russell Frisbie, of Sioux City. 

^Ir. and ACrs. Lessenich began their domestic 
life in Illinois, but since 1867 they have been 
residents of Sioiix City. They built the Chi- 
cago Hotel, which they are now conducting, al- 
though the years of their active connection 
therewith ha^'c not been continuous. After 
conducting the hotel for four years they re- 
moved to a farm in Pl^^nouth county, Iowa, 
residing thereon for three and a half years. 
On the expiration of that period they sold their 
farm property and returned to the hotel, which 
they condticted for five years more. Then for 
three years they rested from the hotel business. 
In ISSO, however, tlie hotel burned, and after 
rebuilding it they again entered business life 
as its proprietors. This was in Xovember, 
1881, and they continued its management for 
five years. !Mrs. Lessenich then traveled for a 
year, visiting many points of interest in the 
west and south, and after her return they lived 
retired nnril I'.mki, when she again took charge 
of the Chicago Hotel, which she is now con- 
ducting with her son as manager. It is situ- 
ated at the corner of Jones and Fourth streets 
and she has during an active career demon- 
strated excellent business ability and her well 
directed efforts arc now manifest in the ex- 
tensive property interests which are hers. As 
success has been won in the passing years she 
has made judicious investment in real estate 
and now owns a large amount of property in 
Sioiix City and valuable farming lands in the 
west. Her possessions include four hundred 
and eighty acres in Hutchinson county, South 
DaktUa : one hundred and sixty acres in Clark 
county. South Dakota : two hundred and sev- 
enty acres in Woodbury county. Iowa ; and 
fifty-four acres in Dakota county, Xebraska. 
Her farms return to her a very desirable and 
gratifying income. Mrs. Lessenich attends the 
Catholic church of St. John the Bajitist. Mr. 
Lessenich was made a ^lason in Landmark 




■ 


^^^^^Bfl^~T^^ 


1 


K ^ T3l 







MK. AND MKS'. J. J. LE8SEN1CH. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY. 



4-il 



Lodge, Xo. 103, A. F. eV A. M., of Sioux City, 
Jamiarv 25, 1870, is also a member of Western 
Star Lodge, jSTo. 282, and belongs to all the 
German societies of Sioux City Avith the ex- 
ception of the Sons of Herman. 



MELCHIOR WINTHER. 

The rapid growth of Sioux City has fur- 
nished a profitable field of labor for contractors 
and builders. There has been no greater activ- 
ity along any business line than in this depart- 
ment of labor, of which Mr. Winther is a repre- 
sentative. He was born in Xorway in 1S66, a 
son of Hans and Annie Winther, both of whom 
were natives of "the land of the midnight sun." 
There the father carried on agricultural pur- 
suits until his death and the mother is now liv- 
ing there in the eightieth year of her age. They 
were the parents of five children, all of whom 
still remain in JSTorway with the exception of 
our subject. Both the father and mother held 
membership in the Lutheran church. 

Melchior Winther is indebted to the public- 
school system of his native country for the edu- 
cational privileges he enjoyed. Wlien he put 
aside his text-books he learned the trade of a 
carpenter and joiner, serving a four years' ap- 
prenticeshiiJ, during which time he became an 
excellent -workman through his study of the 
practical side of his chosen vocation as Avell as 
the theory thereof. Desiring that he might 
have better opportunities in the new world, 
however, he came to the United States in 1891, 
arriving nn the 28tli of !May. He then located 
in Sioux City, where he has since remained, 
and in 1001 he formed a i^artnership with 
Chris ^[ae under the firm name of Mae & 
Winther, contractors and builders. Tn the suc- 
ceeding autumn, however, the firm dissolved 
partnership and Mr. Winther has since been 
alone in business. He has recently removed to 
a new office building at Xo. 010 Pierce street. 
He has built a number of modern residences of 



that city and has secured a patronage which has 
made his business a profitable one. 

In 1895 occurred the marriage of Mr. 
Winther and Miss Theny Torgerson, a daugh- 
ter of Canute and Barbara Torgerson. Her 
father is a farmer of Iowa and her mother is 
now deceased, ilrs. Winther was born in this 
state in 1871 and by her marriage has become 
the mother of four children : Fonda, Adel, 
iLildred and Henry. Both Mrs. and Mrs. 
Winther are identified with the Xorwegian 
church, and he belongs to Viking lodge. His 
political endorsement is given the Republican 
party and in matters of citizenship he mani- 
fests a progressive and public-spirited interest. 



XELS WAHLBERG. 



Xels Wahlberg, a contractor and builder who 
has been active in building operations in Sioux 
City for twenty-two years, was born in Sweden 
in 1838. He acquired his education in the pub- 
lic schools of that country and afterward 
leariic<l the carpenter's trade there in connec- 
tion witli liis father, with whom he worked for 
twelve years. He has since continuously fol- 
lowt'd that i)ursuit and on crossing the Atlantic 
in 1882 he made his way westward to Sioux 
City and here l)ecame identified with building 
operations. Among the more prominent struc- 
trues which are monuments to his skill and 
handiwork are the Methodist Episcopal church, 
the Swedish Augustana church and the English 
Lutheran church. He also erected a Catholic 
chureh in Hulibard, Xebraska, and has built 
many other structures in Sioux City outside 
those mentioned. He does reliable work, is 
trustworthy in all luisiness transactions, is fair 
and just to his employes and ever strictly hon- 
orable in carrying out the terms of a contract. 

In 1863 Mr. Wahlberg was imited in mar- 
riage in Sweden to Miss Christina Anderson, 
and unto them have been born three children : 
Anna, who is now at home; Olaf, a resident of 



U2 



PAST AND TKESENT OF WOODBIKY COUNTY 



Chicago; and Gorg, who is a machinist of Chi- 
cago. 

Mr. Wahlljcrg gives his support ti:> the Ke- 
puhlican party, for his study of the political 
questions and issues of the day has led him to 
believe that its platform contains the best ele- 
ments of good government. During twenty-two 
years' residence in Sioux City he has become 
widely known and has wtm the respect and con- 
fidence of his fellow men by his straightforward 
business dealings and through the possession of 
many sterling traits of character, such as often 
find exemplification in the Swedish race. 



E^iIORY D. SHEE:\1AX. 

Emory 1). Sherman, becoming a resident of 
Sioux (.'ity in 1S7S, was for many years con- 
nected witli its mercantile interests and his 
biisiness career was such as any man might be 
pi'dud to possess, because it was characterized 
both b,\- enterprise and honesty. He was born 
in Cayuga county, liTew Y'ork, in 1857. His 
jjarents, who were farming people, spent r];eir 
entire livt^s there. Tlie son was educated in 
the common schools of his native county and 
assisted his father in the work of the farm in 
earlv boyhood days. Tn 1878 he cauu' tii riic 
west, being then a young man of twentv one 
years, and at that lime he established his home 
in Sioux ( ity, where he entered ujion his busi- 
ness life as a clerk in the employ of J. D. 
Spalding. He afterward began liusiness on his 
own account as proprietor of a grocery store 
on lower Fourth street, where he continued for 
a few years. He then removed to West Seventh 
street and at a later day established his store 
at the corner of Fiftli and Pierce streets, where 
he continued in tlie retail grocery liusiness up 
to t]i(> timt' of his deatli, having a large trade. 
The neat and thrifty appearance of the store 
and the attention given to arrangements, as well 
as the honorable methods of the pro])rietor, won 
him a constantly growing patronage that re- 



sulted in In-inging to him a very desirable com- 
petence. He tluis became a successful business 
man of Sioux < 'ity and was well known in com- 
mercial circles, enjoying tlie confidence and 
good will of all. 

On the 5th day of April, 1S81, :Mr. Sherman 
was united in nuirriage to ^liss Lulu O. Rine- 
harf, a native of Sullivan county, Xew York, 
and a daughter of Abraham and Annie Rine- 
hart, both of whom are natives of the Empire 
state. Her father was a painter by trade and 
removed from Xew York to Jersey City, Xew 
Jersey, «-liere be resided u]) to the time of his 
(h'atli. ]\Irs. Rinehart afterward came to Sioux 
( ity in 1884 and has since made her home with 
ilrs. Sherman. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sherman 
were born three children: JIarrv C., who is 
an engineer in the Davidson department store 
and resides with his mother; Cora E., at home; 
and Jessie E., the wife of Fred Wonder, of 
Onawa. Towa. 

]\tr. Sherman departed this life July 23, 
18!»',i, and after his death his wido^v conducted 
tbe business for a year and then sold out. In 
his ]iolirical vie-ws he was a Rejjublican and 
socially was eonnected with the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen. He also belonged to the 
^lethodist church, with which his family are 
connected. There were nmny elements in his 
career worthy of emulation, including his 
laudable andiition, his strong jnu'iiose and his 
straightforward dealing. Fie left an honorable 
name as well as a comfortalile competence and 
is held in loving remembrance liy many friends 
as well as his own family. ^Irs. Sherman and 
her children occupy a nice residence at Xo. 510 
Xebraska street. 



LOUTXG R. CRAFTS. 

Loring B. Crafts, deceased, who was in the 
employ <d' the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
pany at Sioux ( 'ity for several years, was born 
in ilarshall countv, Iowa. Xovember 27, 1860, 




E. D. sher:\[ax. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



445 



his parents being John Bolton and Ann Eliza 
(Ingham) Crafts, the latter a native of Hardin 
county, Ohio, and the former of Canada. The 
father came to Iowa in 1854, settling in Mar- 
shall connty, where he was engaged in farming 
for many years. He then removed to Council 
Bhiffs, where he secured employment in the 
baggage room of the Chicago & Northwestern 
Kailroad Company, occupying that position for 
seventeen years. He then removed to I)es 
iloines, Iowa, where both he and his wife still 
reside. He became well to do, through the care- 
ful husbanding of his resources and his judi- 
cious investment, and is now living retired in 
the enjoyment of a well earned competence. 
There were two children in the family, the 
elder being George L., a traveling salesman, 
who resides in Des Moines. 

Loring B. Crafts acquired a good education, 
completing his coiirse in the high school of 
Council Bluffs, after which he learned the 
cigarmaker's trade, following that pursuit in 
the em])loy of others for some time and then 
beginning the manufacture of cigars on his own 
account in that city. After a brief period, how- 
ever, he removed to Siotix City, where he se- 
cured a good position in the frieght ottice of 
the Illinois Central Railroad Company, lie 
discharged his duties in connection with the 
railroad for several years and then returned to 
Council Bluffs, when he established a chattle 
ami loan business and soon secui-ed a large cli- 
entage. ]!(' continued in that line of Imsiness 
activity u]) to the time of his doatli, which oc- 
curred in Council Bluffs on tlic I'dth <if May, 
180.3. 

While residing in Sioux City ^Ir. ('raffs was 
married to Miss Emma A. ^Marion, a native of 
this city and a daughter of Paul J. B. and 
Eugenia M. IMarion, who were also residents 
here and are mentioned on another page of this 
Volume. Her father is now deceased, while 
!Mrs. Clarion resides with her daughter at No. 
714 Jones street, Sioux City. Unto Mr. and 
Mrs. Crafts were born three children : IMav 



Clarion, who was married in August, 1904, to 
Ralph J. Allen, a pharmacist residing in Kan- 
sas City, Missouri; George L., who makes his 
home with his mother and is employed by the 
Baker Hardware Company ; and Minnie J., at 
home. 

Mr. Crafts gave his political allegiance to 
the Republican party and earnestly desired its 
success, but never sought the rewards of polit- 
ical office. Fraternally he was connected with 
the Masonic lodge and was laid to rest with 
ilasonic honors at Council Bluff's. During his 
residence in Sioux City he formed an extended 
acquaintance, and he is yet held in kindly re- 
membrance by many who knew him. All of 
the family are memljers of the Baptist church 
but have never united with the congregation of 
that denomination in Sioux City. After her 
husband's death Mrs. Crafts resided in Council 
Bluffs and in Des Moines with his mother, thus 
sjiending ten years, and then wishing to be 
with her ovra mother in Sioux City she returned 
to Woodbury cotnity and established her home 
in Morningside, at No. 1721 Vine street. She 
was left in very comfortable financial circum- 
stances by her husband, whose chief interest 
centered in his family and whose greatest dc- 
ligbr was in ministering to the happiness of 
his wife and children. 



L. R. STOLL, ]\1. D. 



Dr. L. S. Stoll, who is engaged in the prac- 
tice of medicine and surgery in Smithland, has 
that love for and devotion to his profession 
wliicli has brought to him success and won 
for him a place among the ablest representa- 
tives of the medical fraternity in Woodbury 
county. He is a native of France, born in 
Alsace-Lorraine, April 5, 1845, and is a son 
of Anthony and Elizabeth (Schmidt) Stoll, 
who were also born in that province, the former 
July 14, 1702, and the latter in 1810. Com- 
ino- to the new world in 1853, they first located 



446 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUXTY 



at Cascade, Diibiiqiie couiitv, Iowa, where the 
father died iu 1857. He was twice married, 
his second wife being the mother of oiir sul>- 
ject. She long survived her husband, dyiug in 
Dyersville, Iowa, in 189(5. There were five 
children by the first union and eight by the 
second, who in order of hirth were as follows : 
Anton, born December 16, 1810; ^NLagdaleua, 
born May 2, 1819; Joseph, who was born Sep- 
tember 9, 1821, and died while serving in the 
French army in 1851; Andrew, born January 
7, 1824; John, horn Decemher 27, 1826; Eliza- 
beth, born Xovember 3, 1830 ; Ludwig, born 
January 30, 1833; ilichael, l)orn September 
27, 1835 ; Mary, born February 17, 1838 : Bar- 
bara, horn April 17, 1840; Katharina, born 
January 21, 1842; Louis S., born April 5, 
1845 ; and August, born January 25, 1850. 

Dr. Stoll was eight years of age on the emi- 
gration of the family to America and he has 
since been a resident of Iowa. He obtained 
his literary education in the public schools of 
Cascade and studied medicine under the ilirec- 
ti(m of Dr. J. S. Ixundell, of Did)uque, receiv- 
ing his diploma as a Doctor of ^Medicine from 
the state hoard of health in June, 1872. He 
began practice the following year at Arcadia, 
Carroll county, Iowa, and has since followed 
his profession in connection with the drug busi- 
ness, in which he has l)eeu engaged since 1863, 
being a charter member of the State Pharma- 
ceutical Association of Dos Moines. 

On the 10th of September, 1867, Dr. Stoll 
was united in marriage at Dyersville, Iowa, 
to Miss Sarah E. Trentor, who was horn in 
^Vheeling, West Virginia, Xovember 30, 1847, 
and in 1853 removed to Dubuque, Iowa, with 
her parents, Jacob and Sarah Trentor, who 
resided at that place, but are now deceased. 
Her great-grandmother was !Mrs. Jordan, the 
first white woman to cross the !^[ississi])pi river 
at Dubuque. She lived to be one hundred and 
eleven years of age an<l clicd iir Atlantic. Iowa, 
at the home of an Indian girl, whom she had 
adopted and reared after lieing captured from 



the Indians in battle at Dunleith, Iowa. Dr. 
Stoll and wife have two children. William 
Walter, the elder, was born October 10, 1868, 
and was educated in the public schools and 
at the University of Des Moines, where he pur- 
sued a course in pharmacy and was graduated 
in 1886, when but eighteen years of age, being 
the youngest pharmacist in the state. For 
five years he was prescription clerk for W. 
L. Hunt, of Sioux City, and then purchased 
the drug store of Kill & Company at Fonta- 
nelle, Adair county, Iowa, where he is still 
engaged in business. He was married in 1898 
at the home of our stdjject to iliss Katie Boer, 
of Sioux Center, where she taught in the pub- 
lic schools. They now have one child, John W., 
born in 1903. Clare Gertrude, the Doctor's 
only daughter, was born in Arcadia, Septemljer 
30, 1886, and attended the public schools of 
Smithland. She is a graduate of the Chicago 
Conservatory of Music, from which she re- 
ceived her diploma in Jtme, 1892, and is now 
assistant bookkeeper in Pelatier's dry-goods 
store of Sioux City. 

Dr. Stoll has always taken an active inter- 
est in ])ublic affairs and served as assistant 
postmaster at Dyersville under Presidents 
Lincoln, Johnson and Grant from 1864 until 
1874; was postmaster of Arcadia under Presi- 
dent Cleveland from 1885 imtil 1889; and of 
Granville, Iowa, under President Harrison 
fiMii, A].ril 10, 1891, until 1894, while en- 
gaged iu the drug bttsiness at those places. He 
is a liberal thinker and has been a writer for 
the Xew Liberal party and also for medical pa- 
pers and journals for the last ten years. He 
is a high-minded man, very conscientious and 
fearless in the expression of his thoughts. His 
character is al)Ove reproach, his reputation be- 
ing unassailable and his honor sustained under 
the most trying circumstances. He has made 
and lost a fortune. The Doctor is the patentee 
of an aufoinatie gate latch, which opens the gate 
Ijotli way, and for which he has been offered 
thirtv-tivc hundred dollars. He has sold the 



PAST AXD rHHsKXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



-147 



patent i-iy;lit in tive states for tive hiimlrcj 
dollars each. He has also jiateiiteil a hi>g 
cholera reiueJv, a check-reiu holder and a safe 
ty line fastener device. He is a specialist and 
exjx'rt analyzer of drugs and chemicals and 
has patented and nianufaetnres several of his 
own proprietary medicines which have added to 
his fame and increased his income. JStdll's 
Family Medicines are found in every drug 
store and are very generally used. Anmng 
them is the stomach bitters, cough and Inng 
balsam, headache capsules, and the cornhusk- 
er's friend. For the past year he has devnte(l 
considerable attention to the raising of high- 
grade Plymouth Eock chickens, both for the 
table and market. 

Dr. Still takes great delight in outdoor 
sports, especially tishing and hunting. lie is 
a tine marksman and at one time carried off 
the highest prize at the Marshalltown Shooting 
Club. He is also a good boatnuin and enjoys 
all kinds of healthful sports. He is a man 
of most generotis and itnselfish disposition, will- 
ingly giving his last dollar t(i any one in need, 
and though in moderate circumstances he ex- 
presses himself as being as happy as if he had 
millions. 



AVILLTA]^! FIXXECJAX. 

William Finnegan, one of the ( 'alifoi-uia 
gold miners of an early day and later an enter- 
prising farmer of Woodbury county, is now 
living a retire<l life in Sioux City, where- he 
has invested his ea})ital in real estate. He is a 
son of ilalacbai and Mary (Smith) Finiu>gan. 
The father came to America from Ireland 
about 1835 and settled in Waukesha county, 
Wisconsin, Avherc he purchased a farm, con- 
tinuing its cultivatiiiii for many years. His 
death occurred in that county in l>i4(>, at the 
age of eighty- tive years, while bis wife jiassed 
away at the age of eighty-two years. 

William Finnegan, who was liorn in Ireland 
in iSi^i), attended the public schools of his 



native country and came to America when 
aliout hfteen years of age. He assisted his 
father in the cultivation of the home farm in 
Wisconsin until the time of his marriage, 
which was celebrated on the 0th of October, 
1S.")1, Miss Elizabeth Cautillion becoming his 
wife. She was a daughter of James Cantilliim, 
a farmer of Waukesha county, Wisconsin, who 
was also a native of Ireland. 

In the year following his marriage William 
Finnegan drove across the country to Cali- 
fornia, crossing the Missouri river at Council 
Ijlutfs, and after two years spent on the Pacific 
coast be returned in 18.'>-1. He was cpiite suc- 
cessful in his mining ventun's, sending and 
bringing back with him considerable gold dust 
and nuggets. During his absence his wife re- 
mained ujjon the home farm and after his re- 
turn he devoted his attention to general farm- 
ing in Wisconsin until ISd'.l, when he came to 
Woodbury county and pttrciiased a farm of one 
bniidi-ed and sixty acres at James station. He 
there rt'slded until 1S8'.>, when he came to 
Sioux (_'ity and his attention was devoted to 
general farming with good success. He rented 
his property until T.Mll and then sold it, largely 
investing his capital in city ]iro]ierty, wliich 
returns to him a good income. 

Unto Mr. and ilrs. Finnegan were born 
five children : Thomas E., born February 2, 
lS.-,r,, died (October '.I, I'.HH). His life was one 
of adventure on the plains and mountains and 
for nniny years he followe(l the life of a gold 
prospector, locating some valnalile ndnes in 
Idaho and the Klondike. It was on his return 
from the Klondike, after locating a valuable 
claim there, that he was taken ill an<l died in 
Seattle. If he had papers they were never 
found, but his family came into possession of 
his ])roperty. He was married and went to 
the Klondike in 18811. John Finnegan, the 
eldest son, was born July 11, 18.")."), is a farmer 
anil prospector, spending many years with his 
brother Tlionuts in the west, as a cowliov and 
miner. He had l)een educated in the ]nd)lic 



448 I'Asr AM) I'KKSKXT OF WOODlil i;V LOUXTY 

schools of PIviiKiiilli cnuiilv, Iciwa, and in 1^7-4 William ][. and Hetty (Leonard) Joy, and the 
he went to tiic wesi with his l)i-i)tlier. They t'oi'nicr was the grandson of a patriot of the 
located a valiialilc mine al Snlumiiii ( 'ily, [dalm, lie\'oliiti(inai'v war. William II. Jny followed 
wliicli thc\- sdhi t'di' hi'li'cii ihcmsaiii] dullars. fai'miiin' ami was also the uwiicr of milling 
William Finnegan, Ikji'ii .Vdxcndicr 7, i.S.">7, jiniperty and during his youth William Leon- 
was married in ISSH t(p .Miss jicll IJarrett and ai-d Joy largely assisted his father. In the 
they have ninr chililicn. Mlizaheth, horn July meantime, however, he attended school and 
2o, ISflO, inan-ird Ivlward Itarrett, who died ]irepared for college as a student in Leland's 
in T.MIO, h':i\int; six childi-cn. Jamc^s, horn Seminary in his nal ivc town. When twenty-one 
iS'<ivcmhcr 11, ISGl, i.s a carpenter of _Moii- years of age he entered .Viidiei'st ( 'ollege, coni- 
tana. ])leting the regular course with the class of 
-Ml'. Finnegan and his family are memliers 1 ^."i.">, Imt in the meantime he had devoted three 
of Sr. Joseph's ('ailiolie ehnreh, and in ]ioIitics winter seasons to teaching sclmol. He was a 
he is a l)emoci'at. lie has reached the eighty- teaclier in Leland's Seminary f<n' a few terms 
foni'tii milestone on life's journey and his has and during that period devoted all his leisure 
been an acti\'e, useful and lionorable career, in hours outside the schoolroom to the study of 
whieji his lal)ors have heen crowned with a fair law, which he continued under the direction of 
measure of liiuincial success, so that, possessing Judge Eolierts. Early in tlie s|)ring of IS.'iT 
good properly interests, he has been enabled to lie was admitted to the liar and almost im- 
speml the e\-ening of iiis life in retirement mediately afterwai'd came to Sioux ( 'ity, Iowa, 
from fui'thei- labor. wliei-e lie arri\-e(l on the ."ith of May. Here 

he reiiniined as an acti\'e member of the liar 

until bis death, which occurreil in ('alifornia. 

lie entered into ]>artnershi]i with X. ( '. Ilml- 

CUAUXCFY L. JOY. ^,,,^ ^,,1,,,.,. ,|„, fl,.,,, ^^^.1p „f nudson & Joy, 

The true measure of siu-cess is deteruLined ^md the relation was nuiiufaiiUMl until ISfifl, 
by what one lias a<'eoniplishe(l and, as taken ^if'er wliieb Mr. Joy was alone in practice for 
in C(intradistiiiclioii lo the old adage that a Iwoyeai's. 1 le then became the senior partner 
prophet is never withont lioii,,r save in his own "+' the linn of Joy i: Wriglil. wliicli for twenty 
country, there is parlieiilar interest attaching years maintained a re]intation as the leading 
to the career of ihe >iibjeet of this review siii<-e biw firm of Woodbury county. These gentle- 
he is a iiativi' son of ihe cily in whieb be has uien aeted as local attorneys for the Illinois 
jiassed his active life and s.i directed his aliil- <'<-iitral Itailmad rom]iaiiy and the general at- 
ity and ellorts as to gain recognition as one tormys foi' the Sb.ux Cily \- I'acitic, the Da- 
of its representative citizens. He is actively l<"l:i Soulbern, the Covington. Columbus iV 
connected with a ]irofession which has impor- Black Hills Ilailroad Com|(anies and for the 
taut hearing upon the progress and stable pros- Iowa Falls i: Sioux City Fuiilroad >.l- Land Com- 
perity of any section or (■ommunity, and one I'^niy. The clie^nta^v of Mr. Joy continually 
whh'li has long been consiilered as conserving increased and lie ]n-acliced in both the state 
the ],nblic welfare by furthering the ends of and federal courts, lie pract iced in iiorlliwest- 
justice and ma i lit a iniiii; individual rights. ern Iowa at a time when his professional labors 

.Mr. Joy, boni in Sioiix City, in ISli^, is a "'ere attended with many bai'dsbips and dilti- 

son of William Leonard J.y. whose birth oc- cullies. Durim: the winter seasons and when 

curred in I'owiiseiid, X'ermont, .\ui;iist 17, lln' \\alers were high has he traveled the cir- 

1S21I, and who died in I'.MIO. His parents were cnil. I'lie journeys were often fraudit with 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



451 



danger, for liu hail to make his way over \vi(h' 
prairies which were crossed with swollen 
streams. There wvre nights sjjent by the law- 
yers in wanilering o\cr hleak prairies, search- 
ing amid blinding suows aud piercing winds 
for a dim trail ; days and night spent in wet 
clothing, journeying throngh drenching rains 
and swollen streams, crossing the almost track- 
less i^rairies ; trips on foot made throngh mud 
and water to Dakota City and back; crossing 
the llissonri in skiffs and dug-onts amid float- 
ing ice and angry wares, when the chances of 
reaching the shoreless land were better than 
those of making the home port. Then, too, 
for many years the possibility was ever before 
them in their jonrneys that the red man might 
be lurking for them in every ravine and clump 
of trees. This constant exposure to danger 
made them fearless almost to recklessness. As 
he found opportunity he made investment in 
real estate and became the owner of extensive 
property interests. In 1888 the partnersliip of 
Joy & Wright was dissolved and ^h: Joy after- 
ward became the senior partner of the firm of 
Joy, Hudson, Call & Joy. He ever main- 
tained a foremost place among the prominent 
lawyers of the state. He did not confine his 
attention, however, entirely to his legal prac- 
tice, for he became a factor in financial circles. 
He was the president for many years of the 
Sioux ISTational Bank, which was organized in 
June, 1881, with a capital of one Irandred thou- 
sand dollars, which was afterward increased 
many fold. He was also a stockholder and a 
director in the Towa Savings Bank, which was 
organized January I.'), 1883. He was likewise 
a director of the Union T.oan & Trust Com- 
pany. He was always deeply interested in 
school matters and for more than a quarter 
of a century was a member of the school board 
of the independent district of Sioux City. TTe 
gave the benefit of his large business experience 
and much valuable time to the district. To him 
and his co-laborers, who comprised some of the 
most prominent citizens of this city, is due 



the excellent condition of the public schools 
of the city and most of the property the dis- 
trict now owns. His political sujiport in early 
life was given to the Whig party and after- 
ward to the Republican party. He was twice 
called to represent Woodbnry county in the 
lower house of the state legislature, serving in 
186-4 and 186G, and he took an active part 
in many juiblic movements and measures hav- 
ing direct and important bearing upon the wel- 
fare of the community. One of his special 
duties was the investigation concerning railroad 
interests of northwestern Iowa and he succeed- 
ed in carrying through the measures for which 
he was sent. Having accomplished this work 
he steadfastly refused to again become a candi- 
date for oflice. For two years he was a mem- 
ber of the board of county commissioners. He 
was frequently urged by his friends to become 
a candidate for judge of the district and circixit 
conrts and also of the supreme court and his 
analytical mind and freedom from j\idieial bias 
were qualities that wonld have enabled him to 
grace the bench, but he never desired such 
office. He held membership with the Baptist 
church for many years and lived a life which 
brought him not only prominence but the re- 
spect and confidence of his fellow men. 

On the 10th of October, 1859. he married 
Frances Alfreda Stone, who was born in West- 
moreland, !N"ew Ham]-)shire, and is a represent- 
ative of an old New England family. She is 
still living in Sioux City. In the family were 
only two children: Chauncey L. and Helen F. 

In the public schools Chauncey L. Joy mas- 
tered the elementary branches of learning and 
tlien matriculated in the Towa State IJiiiversity, 
in which he was graduated with the class of 
ISSfi. He next entered the office of Joy, 
Wright iSr Hudson as a law student, spending 
two years there, and in 1880 he was admitted 
to the bar of Towa. Prior to that time, how- 
ever, he was admitted to the bar on motion in 
Xebraska ami he entei'ed u]ion the practice of 
bis profession in Sioux City. The year after 



452 



PAST AND I'HESKXT OF WOODBllJY COF-XTY 



hf l)et;aii rrailin^' ( 'rai.u L. W'riiilit withdrew 
frciiii tilt' tinii and Mr. .Tny of tliis review was 
admitted a< a iiieinlier. This partiiersliiji was 
inaintaiiiecl iiiilil ISMI, when A. F. ( 'aU, of 
Aigoona, I<iwa. was a(hiiifted t<i the tinii. A. 
L. Hudson wiilidrew in IsHi' and was after- 
ward orchiined a minister of the I'nitarian 
ehnreli. Mv. .Fiy and liis fatlier with .Mr. Call 
then renniined together nntil F'^'.M'i. when Mr. 
Call withiirew from tlie tirni, after whieli Mr. 
Ji>y and his father (-(jntinned nntil his ileath 
and ^Ir. .Toy then jiraetieecl alone for a time. 
Tn T.HIl he formed a ]iartm'rshi]) with .\. II. 
P.nrton, and this still eontinnes. the elientaii-e 
lieing of an ini]iorfant character and in voT 
tnne it is snitieient to hring to the |iartnt>rs 
a "ood annual income. 

Tn T.K)1 ^Fr. .Toy was married to ]\Iiss Lniira 
E. .Tones, and they are well known in the so- 
cial circles of the city. "Mrs. .Toy is a mendier 
of the Kpiscopal (dinreh. IMr. .Toy gives his 
]iolitical allegiance to the TJejnihlican jiarty 
and has tilled the office of rnite<l States referee 
in liankrn|)tcy since the law went into (effect. 
TTe lielongs to the Sionx City T!ar Association 
and he is a representative of that class of Amer- 
ican citizens who stand for hiuh ideals in their 
chosen calling, who are the ]iri'moters of mn- 
nicijial lionor and the sii|i|,orti.rs of all nieas- 
nres whiidi have for their ohjcct the greatest 
iiood to the a'reatest nmnher. 



SA:\irEL FUYETL 



'Jdie home farm of Sannnd Fryer, on( 
till' liest in llntland townshiji, c-ompriscs 
hundred and forty acres and is sitnate<l 
section 17. lie did not reeei\-e this thro 
gift or inlieritance Imt gaine<l it throngh 
own i)ersistent effort, nnahating cnergv 
indefatigahle indnstry, and his life record sh 
wliat may he accom|ilislied liy these Irait^ 
character. .\ nati\e of Pennsylvania, he 
horn in Center conntv, ]\iarch 2;!, 1S.").">, an 



■ <if 
two 
on 
ngh 
hi, 
an<l 
ows 

= of 

was 
d is 



of (iernntn lineage. Jlis paternal grandfather, 
( 'harles T'ryer, was a native of Xew York and 
served his country as a soldier in the war of 
1S12. He afterward settled in Center county, 
Pennsylvania, where Philij) Fryer, the father 
of our suliject, was born, reared, educated and 
married, lie wedded ilargaret Bryan, also 
a native of ('enter county and a datighter of 
•Facoli IJryan, who was horn in Pennsylvania 
and was of Knglish jiareutage. Philiji Fryer 
hecame an cnterjirising agriculturist of ('enter 
county and in adilition to his farm pursuits 
he also owned and operated a grist and flouring 
mill. His entire life was sjient in the place 
of his nativity. In the family were four clnl- 
di-en : .lolin IL, who is now living in Marion 
c<inniy, Iowa: Samuel F., who is the second 
in order of hirth; Wymau, of Marion county; 
and Anna, the wife of John Dixon, of Kansas. 
lleared upon the home farm in Pennsylvania, 
SaiHU(d Fryer lost his father wdien only eleven 
years of age ;ind almost from that time had 
to (hjiend entirely upon his resotirces for a 
lixing. His educational pri\'ileges in conse- 
iinencc were extremely limited and, having no 
opportunity to attend school, he is also a self- 
edticated as well as self-made man. He pos- 
sesses, however, an cihserving eye and retentive 
menioi-y for knowdedge that has proven of prac- 
tical henetit in the business world ami he is 
also well infiu-med on many subjects concern- 
ing (dti/.enship. Tn If^T:.' he went to Kansas, 
locating in .Tatd<son county and afterward estab- 
lishing his home in Xemaha county, Ivausas. 
There he rentecl a tract of land and engaged in 
farming on his own account. Tn 1ST.), how- 
ever, he returned to Pennsylvania, wdiere he 
spent the succee(ling winter and in the follow- 
ing s]>ring he returned to Tvansas and again 
engaged in farming in Xemaha county, where 
he resided for three years. He next ri'moveo 
to eastern Iowa and o]ierated a tract of rented 
laml in ^Fahaska county f(U' several years. He 
afterward <'ngaged in farming in ^Farion couu- 
t\- ami for tlirie vears in T\eoknk ciuintv. Tn 




Mil. AND Mi;s. .SAMIEL FIJYEK. 



PAST AXD ]'KESEXT OF WUODBUHY CULXTY 



455 



ISSl he arrived in Woodburv eouuty and has 
since remained njjon the farm tliat is now his 
home. Pie ])nrchased one linmh-cd and sixty 
acres of hind, which was entirely unimproved 
up t(i tliis time and began its develoinnent and 
ciihivation. He erected a good residence and 
commodious structures. Shade trees and fr^iit 
trees have been planted by him and the orchard 
is in good bearing condition ; in fact, he has 
made the farm what it is today — one of the 
model farm jn-operties of the twentieth cen- 
tury. As his financial resources increased he 
extended tlie boimdaries of the place by addi- 
tional purchases and now has two himdred and 
forty acres. 

ilr. Fryer was married in Jackson county, 
Kansas, February 3, 1876, to iliss Sarah Cant- 
ner, who was born in Ohio, where her girlhood 
ilays were passed. She was a daughter of Silas 
(■aiitiicr, and her death occiirred May 16, 1892. 
The cliildrcn of this marriage are Jessie S., 
who is niari'ied and resides in Kingsley; Ella 
]\lay; (^uilla <)., who is a teacher in Woodlwry 
county; Harry; !^[iller; Alpha; Flossie; 
Leon a ; and Ilyrtle. They also lost one son, 
Omega, who died in infancy. Mr. Fryer was 
again married in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jan- 
uary li', ]'.H)4, his second union being with 
^Irs. Clara Hoyle Faast, a Avidow, who was born 
ill Van Buren county, Michigan, and Avas reared 
in Ohio, where she was married the first time. 
Her father was John Xapoleon Ketchum. She 
had one cliild by her first marriage. 

Mr. Fryer was formeidy a Democrat, but is 
now a stanch Republican where state and na- 
tional issues are involved, but at local elections 
votes independently of party ties. He Avas 
elected and served as supervisor of high^vays 
for five years and was school director for seven 
or eight years, during which time he did effect- 
ive and helpful service in behalf of public edu- 
cation. He is a member of the Evangelical 
church, in which he is serving as an oificer. 
His career has been marked by steady progress 
and thouii'li he started out in business at a verv 



early age and had no one to dejjend upon but 
himself he has gradually climbed upward and 
now stands upon the plane of affluence. His 
large and valuable farm is the visil)le proof 
of his life of untiring industry, capable man- 
agement and keen business discrimination. 
He has been a resident of Iowa for a quarter 
of a century and is thoroughly identified with 
its interests, its peojde ami its jirosperity. 



CHAKLES H. EAKEIl. 

Charles H. Baker, who is engaged in farm- 
ing and stock-raising in West Fork township, 
was born on the 1st of March, 1882, at Sergeant 
Bluff, Iowa, on the home farm of his jjarents, 
Elbert J. and Amelia (Huntley) Baker. The 
paternal grandfather was Joe Baker and the 
maternal grandfather Avas Will Huntley, of the 
state of XcAv York. Elbert J. Baker Avas born 
ill (_'aiiada and is a farmer and stock-raiser. 
Fiifo him and his wife were born seven chil- 
dren, five sons and two daughters: Frank, 
who is now engaged in farming at Sergeant 
Bluff' anil is married ; EdAvard, who is engaged 
in dealing in IIa'c stock; Alice, deceased; Nel- 
lie, the Avife of Albert H^ersou, of Luton, loAva; 
Elbert, who is engaged in farming at Sergeant 
Bluff' and is also married ; Charles, of this re- 
view ; and Le\'i. avIio was graduated from the 
high school at the age of sixteen years. 

Charles H. Baker Avas reared in the usual 
manner of farm lads, attending the public 
schools and Avhen not engaged Avith the duties 
of the schoolroom assisting in the labor of 
field and meadow. He has ahvays engaged in 
general farming and stock-raising and he now 
ojierates one hundred and sixty acres of rich 
and arable land. His farm is Avell improved 
and the fields are under a high state of culti- 
vation, and ill all his Avork he is progressiA'e, 
practical and enterprising. 

On the 11th of March, 1003, :\Ir. Baker Avas 
united in marriage to JMiss Sylvia Phillips, a 



456 



PAST AXD Pi!ESEXT OF WOODBURY COT'XTY 



daiiiiliter of ]\Irs. Alin- Phillips, of Sergeant 
Blutf, Iowa. Mrs. liaker was educated in the 
public schools there and like her husband is a 
member of the liiali schiml. Both are well 
kniiwn in the purricm nf the euuntv in which 
they reside and have a large circle of warm 
friends. Their marriage has been blessed with 
one son, Gordon, born on the 25tli of February, 
iyu4. In his political views ilr. Baker is a 
Repul)lican and fraternally he is connected 
with the Modern AVoodmen of America. He 
possesses excellent business and executive abil- 
ity, directed liy intelligence and snund judg- 
ment, and as he is blessed wirli good health 
there is every reason to ludieve that his life 
work will lie crowned witii a very desiralile 
measure of success. 



JOIIX HEXBY STBIEF. 

John Henry Strii'f, wlm is an operator of a 
linotype machine in the otfice of the Sioux 
City Tribune, has a wide acquaintance through- 
out the state in connection with his work in 
behalf of the labor nnidus and he is now the 
secretary and treasurer of the Iowa State Fed- 
eration of Labor. He ha> always resided in 
the ^[ississippi valley, his liirfli having oc- 
curred ill Galena, Illinois, in 18(')3. His fa- 
ther, Henry Strief, was liorn in the city of 
Glarus, Canton Glarus. Switzerland, in 1839, 
and in 184G was brought to the Ignited States 
liy liis parents, the family home being estal)- 
lished in Galena, Illinois. He became a steam- 
boat captain on the Mississij^pi river and estab- 
lished his home in Dubuqiie, Iowa, where his 
death occurred December 2G, 186(3, when he 
was but twenty-seven years of age. He wedded 
Mary [McDonald, who was born in Dubuqiie, in 
1842, a daughter of ]\Ir. and Mrs. Eugene 
McDonald. Her parents came from Ireland in 
1839, settling at Dubuque. After the death of 
Henry Strief his widow married Herman 
Saner, and bv that marriage had two children. 



Her death occurred in Chicago, Illinois, in 
September, 1875, when she was thirty-three 
years of age. 

J. II. Strief, the only child of his mother's 
tirst nuirriage, acquired his preliminary educa- 
tion in the public schools of Chicago, to which 
city his mother had removed, and later he 
lived with an uncle in Dubuque, where he also 
attended the jjublic schools and afterward con- 
tinued his studies in the public schools of 
Lemars, Iowa. At the age of fourteen years 
he went into the office of the Lemars Sentinel 
in the capacity of otfice boy or "devil," remain- 
ing there for aboiU four years, during which 
time he was promoted step by step and gained 
a practical knowledge of the trade. At the age 
of eighteen years he established the Times, at 
Kiiigsley, Plymouth coimty, Iowa, and in this 
journalistic ventiire met with success. After 
six months he sold his jiaper at a good profit, 
and returned to Lemars. where he established 
the Lemars Wi.irld. This he also sold after a 
short time, and in the fall of 1884 he came to 
Sioux City and entered the otfice of the Sioux 
City Tribune as a compositor at the case. He 
has since been connected with the paper, cover- 
ing a period of twenty years, and when lin- 
otype composing machines were installed he 
was given charge of one of these. 

Mr. Strief was married in the fall of 1884 
to iliss Helena Bastian, a daughter of Joseph 
and Jane Bastian. She was born in England, 
in October, 1866, although her parents had 
lieen residents of this country some years prior 
to that time, her mother, however, being in 
England on a visit at the time of the birth 
of her daughter. Her father is a miner and 
both parents are members of the Episcopal 
churcli. L'nto Mr. and !Mrs. Strief have been 
born two sons, Harry Joseph, born August 21, 
18S!i, and Arthur Edward, born February 27, 
1904. ^frs. Strief belongs to the Congrega- 
tional church and he attends its services. His 
fraternal relationship is with the Odd Fellows, 
the Elks and the ]\Iodern Woodmen of Amer- 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBUKY COUXTY 



457 



if;i, and in politics he is iudept'iidenr. lit- has 
alwavs lifeu a stanch adviicatc (if hdidr unions 
and when hut a hoy joined the typographical 
union. He has siuce labored for the uishuild- 
ing- and welfare of these organizations formed 
to advance the interests of the working man, 
and in May, I'JOl, at the annual convention 
held in Sioux City, he was elected secretary- 
treasurer of the Iowa State Federation of 
Labor and has since been three times re-elected, 
first at Cedar Rapids and afterward at Daven- 
port, and the third time at Mai'shalltown. He 
represented the Sioux City Union at the con- 
vention of the International Typographical 
Union, held at Chicago in 1893, and he is now 
a delegate to the city central body hei-e. He 
has made a close study of labor problems and 
conditions and believes most firmly that the in- 
terests of the laboring man are best protected 
through organized eifort. 



FKAXK E. WALCOTT. 

Frank E. \Valcott, deceased, was a travel- 
ing salesman for thirty-four years and for sev- 
eral years was identified with business inter- 
ests in Sioux City, where he located in 1888. 
He was born in Xatick, Massachusetts, Novem- 
ber 2, 1847, his parents being George and 
Cordelia (Davis) Walcott, both of whom were 
natives of the same state and always made their 
home in Natick, where the father conducted 
business as a large wholesale manufacturer. 

In the place of his nativity Frank E. Wal- 
cott acquired his early education and after- 
war<l attended Fort Edward Institute in N^ew 
York state, where he enjoyed good educational 
privileges. In 1868 he went to Chicago, where 
he accepted a position as commercial traveler 
and was thus identified with wholesale grocery 
houses of that city for many years. He trav- 
eled for several different firms of Chicago, 
selling nothing but groceries, and he resided in 
that citv until 1877, when he removed to Roch- 



ester, Minnesota, where he sjjent three years, 
making that place his headquarters, although 
he was still connected with Chicago wholesale 
houses. He afterward left the road for a few 
years and in J^ovember, 1880, he came to 
the west, settling in Xorth Dakota, M'here he 
jiurchased three hundred and twenty acres of 
land and there foitnded the town of Walcott, 
giving eighty acres for the town site. He was 
there made postmaster, also filled the ofiice of 
justice of the peace and other local official 
positions. At the same time he superintended 
his farming interests and he made his home at 
Walcott for six years, but was not very suc- 
cessful there. He then returned east for eigh- 
teen months. In 1888 he came to Sioux City, 
where he embarked in the commission business 
as a wholesale dealer in fruit, his store being 
located on Pearl street. He condticted this for 
two years and then again went upon the road 
as traveling representative for the wholesale 
grocery firm of Shenkberg i: Company, of 
Sioux City, his territory being largely in the 
vicinity of this place. 

Mr. Walcott was married in the east to Miss 
Kittie Httestis, a native of Yonkers, X. Y. and 
a daughter of William and D. T. Huestis, both 
of whom were natives of the Empire state and 
there spent their entire lives. The father lived 
retired during his later ^-ears. Two children 
were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Walcott: F. 
ilendell, who married Harriett Reuschling and 
resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Mr. Wal- 
cott has a good position with the l!iew York 
Life Insurance Company; and Harry E., who 
is living with his mother and occupies a good 
position in Sioux City in the freight depart- 
ment of the Chicago, St. Paul, ]\Iinneapolis & 
Omaha Railroad Company. 

On the 16th of September, 1901, Frank E. 
Walcott was called to his final rest and his re- 
mains were interred in the Logan Park ceme- 
tery. He was taken suddenly ill at Fonda at 
six o'clock and died at midnight. Rev. F. 
Xewhall Wltite, pastor of the First Congrega- 



458 



PAST AND PRES'ENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



tional cliurch, conducted the funeral service 
and paid liigli tribute to the character of Mr. 
Walcott. One of the jiioneer traveling men of 
the west, he traveled in this section of the 
country when there were few railroads and as 
the years went by and the circle of his ac- 
quaintance Avas extended the circle of his 
friendship also broadened. In politics he had 
been a stanch Republican who took an active 
interest in the work of the party, believing 
firmly in its principles yet never seeking office 
as a reward for party fealty. He belonged to 
the Masonic fraternity in Chicago and both 
he and his wife were members of the First 
Congregational church of Siou.x City. He was 
well known to the bTisiness men of this place, 
and a genial manner, cordial disposition and 
many sterling traits of character made him 
popular with his large circle of friends. In 
1801 he removed to the suburb of Morning- 
side, where Mrs. Walcott owns a nice resi- 
dence at No. 1403 Fifth avenue, where she 
and her son reside. They are well known here 
and occupy an enviable position in social cir- 
cles of this attractive residence district of the 
county seat. Mr. Walcott was most devoted 
to his family. His home was his paradise and 
he was a most loving husband and affectionate 
father, doing everything in his power to en- 
hance the hajipiness of his wife and son. 



DE. HAMILTON M. STEAVART. 

Dr. Hamilton M. Stewart, pro]n-ietor of 
The Stewart Institute of Healing, was born 
at McEleveys Fort, Huntington comity, Penn- 
sylvania, March 3, 1852, his parents being 
Samuel F. and Mary E. (Scott) Stewart. The 
father, a contractor and biiilder, was born in 
1825 and died in 1902 at the age of seventy- 
seven years. 

Dr. Stewart, after attending the ])ublic 
schools until he had acquired a good English 
education, first worked at the cooper's trade. 
He was thirteen vears of age when he came to 



Iowa, and for two years he was connected with 
farming interests in Johnson county, this state. 
In 1867 he went to Red Oak, Iowa, where he 
was emjjloyed as a teamster, engaged most of 
the time in freighting between Red Oak and 
Council Blutfs. His next employment was 
with the railroad surveyors then engaged in 
siirveying the line of the Chicago, Burlington 
(Ic Quincy road through from Afton, Iowa, to 
Council Bluffs. This job being finished he 
again took a teamster's position with the rail- 
road grading contractors. When the road was 
completed and train service begun he took a 
position as brakeman on a construction train 
on the western division of the road. Tiring 
of this line of work he in 1871 entered the 
employ of Webster Eaton, publisher, and served 
an apprenticeship of three years at the print- 
er's trade, afterward working as a journe\Taan 
printer until in 1878, when he embarked in 
the ])rintii)g business on his own account, and 
for a few months was a ])artncr in the Red 
Oak Ex])ress. He sold his interest in this ])a- 
per and afterward engaged only in the job 
printing business. In the winter of 1879-80 
he went to Audubon, Audubon county, Iowa, 
where for one year hi' was employed on the 
Audubon Advocate, afterward becoming sole 
editor and publisher. In 1883 he sold his inter- 
est in the Audiibon Advocate and removed to 
Wellington, Kansas, where he accepted the po- 
sition of foreman on the Sumner County Press, 
acting in that capacity for one year. In 1885 
he purchased an interest in a Democratic pa- 
per, the Sumner County Standard, and edited 
it until 1887, when he severed his connection 
with journalistic interests by selling his paper, 
and turned his attention to the real-estate busi- 
ness. His hope of rapidly acquiring a compe- 
tence in that way, however, proved a chimera, 
fill' ho lost all when the "land bubble" burst, 
and he had to make a new start in the business 
w..rM. 

In 1888 Dr. Stewart removed to Cherryvale, 
Kansas, whei-e he was again engaged in the 



PAST AND PEEbENT OF WUODBUEY COUNTY 



461 



priuting business lor about thrt-L' luoiiths, when 
he moved to Cotfeyville, Kansas, where he es- 
tablished and edited the Coli'eyville Eagle, a 
Democratic paper. A year later he disposed of 
the paper and went to Joplin, [Missouri. In 
1SS9 he was mining editor on the Joidin Her- 
ald and in 1890 he purchased an interest in a 
job-jjrinting ofBce, which he conducted for a 
time and then sold. He next entered the em- 
ploy of R. S. Peele & Company, publishers of 
Chicago, for whom he handled the Encyclope- 
dia Britannica. In 1S94 he returned to the 
job-printing business in Kansas City, Missouri, 
but after a year of such employment he again 
went upon the road for the Maxwell Simimer- 
ville Publishing Company of Philadelphia, with 
whom he remained until 1896, then for two 
years he engaged in fraternal life insurance 
work with headquarters in Kansas City, Mis- 
souri. 

In 1898 Ur. Stewart became deeply inter- 
ested in magnetic healing and took up the study 
of the science under Professor S. A. Welt- 
mer, of Nevada, Missouri. After graduating 
and receiving his diploma from the American 
School of Magnetic Healing, he traveled for 
several years as a representative of the pro- 
fession and in 1901 he came to Siotix City, 
where he established The Stewart Institute of 
Healing, having a pleasant and commodious 
suite of rooms in the Swasey Building, at the 
corner of Fourth and Jennings streets. He is 
undoubtedly one of the ablest healers by vital 
magnetism and psychopathic force in this coun- 
try, and has been particularly successful in 
treating chronic diseases, healing ninety-seven 
per cent. He has received testimonials from 
various parts of the country from those he has 
healed, and patients come to him from many 
states, receiving from him almost instant re- 
lief from suffering and in almost every case 
he is enabled to bring about a jierfect cure. 
Without the use of medicine, his methods, 
j which are based upon the laws of nature, have 
j proved that drugs are unnecessary and that 



cure can be eifected through harmonious work- 
ing with the methods nature has provided. 

In 1874 Dr. Stewart was married in Red 
Oak, Iowa, to Miss Eliabeth L. Davis, a daugh- 
ter of Samuel Davis, a farmer. They had four 
children : Elva May, the wife of W. H. James, 
of Wayne county, Nebraska; Nellie Maud, 
wife of Joe E. Cain, of St. Louis, Missouri ; 
Mary Margaret, who passed out in 1882, and 
Daisy Myrtle, wife of Frank Moore, also of 
St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Stewart lost his first 
wife in 188-1 and afterward married Miss M. 
Cleora Crawford, of Wellington, Kansas. 
During their residence in Sioux City they have 
gained many friends. Since 1893 Dr. Stew- 
art has been a socialist, his political views be- 
ing the result of close study of the conditions 
of the times and the questions and issues of the 
day. He belongs to the Psychiropathic So- 
ciety of Iowa and is a close student along the 
lines of his profession, carrying his investiga- 
tions far and wide so as to make his eifoi-ts 
as effective as possible in the performance of 
his professional duties. 



willia:\i krudwig. 

AVilliam Krudwig, of Sioux City, who mani- 
fested his loyalty to his adopted land by valiant 
service in the Union Army in the Civil war, 
and who for many years was numbered among 
the enterprising agriculturists of northwestern 
Iowa, was born in Prussia, Germany, Janu- 
ary 20, 1840. His parents, Joseph and Cath- 
erine (Schiflfer) Krudwig, arrived in the 
United States on the Sth of January, 1855, 
and the father was employed as a farm hand 
until his early death, which occurred in 1856. 
His wife survived him for many years and 
died in Butler county, Kansas, in 1875. 

William Krudwig attended the public 
schools of the fatherland, and when fifteen 
years of age he came to the United States with 
his parents. He M'orked as a farm hand and 



463 



PAST AND PRESENT OE WOODBUKY COUNTY 



at general labor in Galena, Illinois, until the 
spring of 1858, when he came to Sioux City. 
Here he entered the einplov of James Booge 
and remained with him until he joined the 
L'nion Army. On the 12th of April, 1861, he 
became a naturalized citizen of the United 
States, and on the 15th of November of the 
same year he offered his services in defense of 
the Union cause, becoming a member of Com- 
pany I, Seventh Iowa Cavalry, with which he 
remained until honorably discharged at the 
close of his three years' term of enlistment, 
November 23, 186-1. He afterward re-enlisted 
in Company B, Fourth Eegiment of United 
States Veteran Volunteers, on the 25tli of Feb- 
ruary, 1805, and was discharged on the 26th 
of February, 1866. !No native born son of 
America can show a record of more faithful 
service and unfaltering loyalty, and he de- 
serves all the honor and gratitude which is due 
the brave boys in blue whose efforts preserved 
the Union. He was stationed at Washington, 
D. C, at the time of the assassination of 
President Lincoln. 

After receiving his discharge Mr. Krudwig 
returned to Woodbury county and seciired a 
homestead claim in Plymouth county of one 
hundi'ed and sixty acres, M-hich he proved up 
and continued to eiiltivate until 1899, when he 
put aside agricultural pTirsuits and removed 
to Sioux City, where he has since lived a re- 
tired life. He always carriccl on general farm- 
ing and was quite siicccssfuj in his work of 
tilling the soil, securing good crops which be 
sold at a profit on the city market. 

On the 27th of September, 1865, Mr. Krud- 
wig married Miss Sophronia Lane, of Colum- 
bus, Oliio, who died January 9, 1884, after a 
happy married life of about nineteen years. 
On the 16th of April, 1884, IMr. Krudwig 
wedded Eliza L. Case. By his first wife lie 
had one child, Emma, who was born October 
20, 1860, and married Adam Strohnier, a 
farmer, by whom she has one cliild, a daughter. 
There are no children In- the second marriage, 



but they have legally adopted a daughter, 
ilaude. 

!Mr. Krudwig is a member of General Han- 
cock Post, No. 22, G. A. R., and enjoys meet- 
ing with old army comrades and recalling 
scenes of the tented held, the campfires and 
the battles of the south. In polities he is a 
stanch Republican and he served as a school 
director in Phmouth county for twelve years. 
The success which he achieved as a farmer now 
eimliled him to live a retired life and he has a 
jileasant home in Sioux City, where he has 
also gained many friends. He can remember 
when the county seat was a small village, giv- 
ing little ])rouiise of almost phenomenal de- 
velo]inient, and lie feels justly proud of what 
has been accomplished throiigh the progressive- 
ness and enterprise of tlie citizens of north- 
western Iowa, witli wlioni lie justly deserves to 
be classed. 



LOUTS DACE LETELLIER. 

Louis Dace Eetellier, who is now living re- 
tired in Sioux City, is one of the pioneer resi- 
dents of northwestern Iowa. He came here 
when the Indians were more niunerous than the 
wliite settlers and when every evidence of fi"on- 
tier life was to be set'ii. For miles around 
stretched the unlirokeii jirairies and the forests 
which bordered tlie streams were as yet uncut. 
The rivers were unbridged and only here and 
there were to be seen the cabins of pioneer resi- 
ik'iits who had come to found homes in the 
western district and were laying the founda- 
tion not only for their own success, but also 
for the jirescnt and future prosperity and prog- 
ress of this part of the state. 

^Ir. Letellier was liorn in P>eauniont. Belle- 
chase county, Caiinda, March I'.i, 1827. His 
parents, Charles and .Marie Charlotte (Martin) 
Letellier, were natives of St. Ambroise 
( 'harle^liurg, ( 'aiiada, and the father died in 
18,")4. The subject of this review acquired his 




M]!S'. l.oriS D. LETKI.LIKl!. 




LOUIS D. LETELLIEE. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



467 



education in the public schools of Canada and 
in 1842, when fifteen years of age, began learn- 
ing the cabinet-maker's trade. He was appren- 
ticed to serve for a term of five years. He was 
to receive no compensation for his labors dur- 
ing the first two years, but during the last tlirce 
years Avas to receive his board. On the 28tii 
of June, 1845, the stiburb of St. John, Can 
ada, was wiped out by fire. There were foiir- 
teen hundred and twenty-eight houses destroyed 
and the cabinet shop in which Mr. Letellier 
was working was also consumed liv the fianies. 
It contained his clothing save that which he 
wore and he was left entirely destitute. He 
was afterward employed in a shipyard for a 
short time and later he Avent to jSTew York 
city, where he worked at his trade for a brief 
])criod. T^ater he removed to Buffalo, jSTew 
^'ork, where he was emi^loyed for two years as 
a carpenter, and subsequently he sought a lidine 
in the middle west, going to Detroit, Michigan, 
where he assisted in building the steamer May- 
flower. He was afterward in Chicago for two 
years and then went to St. Louis, where he 
was ill for about a year with fever. When 
he had sufiiciently recovered he entered the 
employ of the Pierre Chatitau ¥\\r Company 
and was sent up the Missoitri river. He landed 
at Fort Pierre, South Dakota, where he contin- 
ued for two years and in 1852 he went to Fort 
Benton and thence to Fort Union. In the 
spring of 1S54 he was at Fort Berthold, where 
he erected a building in Avhich to kee]i stock. 
He tlien returned to St. Louis and afterward 
went on a visit to his parents in Canada. In 
the summer of 1854, however, he again arrived 
in St. Louis, where he bought horses, wagons 
and traps and with these started northward 
again, arriving in Sioux City in the month of 
October. He there made his home for a time 
with -Mr. Leonais. His partner was Clement 
Lamareaux and together they purchased a 
horse from the Indians and began hunting and 
tra]i]iing in the northwest. They proceeded to 
the present site of Smithland, biit being afraid 



of the Indians, who were continually menacing 
the white settlers, they returned to Sioux City 
and there they erected a log barn, in which 
to keep their horses so that the Indians would 
not drive them ofi^. On Christmas day of 1854 
Mr. Letellier took jiossession of his claim, 
known as Middle Sioux City. It was about 
this time that Dr. Cook and his brother arrived 
in northwestern Iowa. They all went across 
the river into Nebraska in order to secure tim- 
ber, which was to be found there in greater 
abundance than on the Sioux City side of the 
stream. This timlier the party divided among 
themselves. Through the winter Mr. Letellier 
engaged in cutting logs which he brought across 
the ice to Sioux City and in 1855 he built his 
cabin and planted a crop of corn, but the black- 
birds ate all of his crop. Dr. Cook and Mr. 
Chandler laid oiit Sioux City and with its 
early develi:i]inient .Mr. Letellier was actively 
connected. In the summer of 1855 he sold 
his claim for two thousand dollars and bought 
a third of the Bedard claim, now known as 
East Sioux City. This land 31r. LeTellier laid 
out in town lots which he placed upon the mar- 
ket and from the sale of it he realized a very 
desirable income. 

In 1856 Mr. Letellier received a letter from 
home telling him that a former sweetheart of 
his was soon to be married. He had thought 
that she had been married at a previous date. 
Resolving that he would make her his bride 
if possible, though the snow lay sixteen or 
eighteen inches upon the ground, he started at 
once for Canada and arrived in time. They 
plighted their troth and on the 1st of April, 
1857, they were married. The lady, ^[iss 
Emily Matilda Audrey, was a daughter of 
( imrles Audrey. The day following their mar- 
riage they started for Sioux City, where they 
arrived on the 2d of May, taking up their abode 
in the little village. In 1860, as times were 
very hard, Mr. Letellier entered the employ 
of Theophilus Brougiere, who sent him up 
north to trade with the Indians. In 1863, 



4()8 



r.VST AXD PRESKXT OF WoolJBUKY COUNTY 



however, he I'erurned tn Sioiix City, erected a 
building on J'earl street and established a sa- 
loon and boarding linnse. That fall both he 
and his wife were taken ill and on the 10th of 
December, 1863, she dieil. ^Mr. Letellier con- 
tinued to conduct the business for a time and 
then removed to his present home at No. 1414 
Dace street. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Letellier were born ijiree 
children: Dace Charles, born ^lareh 21, 
1858; George Henry, born March 12, ISGU; 
and Marie Matilda Helmine, who is the wife 
of Fred Provost. They reside with her fath- 
er and they have seven children : Lonis Henry, 
Emily May, William Edward, Rose Adele, 
Loretta Dolores, Arthur Paul and lAicile Jean- 
ette. All are members of the ('atholic church. 

.Mr. Letellier has given his sniiiiort to the 
Democracy since becoming an American citi- 
zen. He is now living a retireil life, enjoying 
a well earned rest and he has attained the ad- 
vanced age of seventy-seven years. He can re- 
late many interesting incidents of pioneer times 
in northwestern Iowa, for his memory almost 
covers the period of the entire development of 
this part of the state. Great changes have oc- 
curred since he hunted and trapped in this part 
of the country and be has borne his full share 
in the ^vork of development and progress. 
Sioux City has benefited by his efforts and he 
may be called one of its founders and ]iromot- 



TH0:\1AS F. BEVTXGTON. 

Thomas I'\ lieviugl a ]ironiinent fai-lor 

in the ])olitieal ciri'les <if Sioux ('ity and well 
known as a representative of the bar now mak- 
ing a specialty of corjxiration law, was born 
n<>ar Ames, Story county, Towa, ^lareli !'.•, 
18(11, and is a son of .Tames H. and Hester A. 
( Jonesl llevingion. The family is of Scotch, 
Welsh and Irish lineage, and was founded in 
Ohio by two brothers who located ii\ Warren 



county, where they followed the occupation of 
farming. In the grandfather's family were 
the following: Charles D. ; Samuel, deceased, 
who was a banker of Kansas; ]\[athew, who 
died at Centerville, Iowa ; James H. ; and 
Frank, who is living in Mount Ayer, Iowa. 
The first named was president of the First Na- 
tional Bank at Winterset, Iowa, and a large 
landowner, and his death occurred in 1893, 
when he was eighty-two years of age. James 
H. Bevington, of this family, was the father 
of our subject. He was born in Ohio, was a 
farmer and carjicnter and at the time of the 
( 'ivil war he enlisted for service in the Union 
Army as a member of the Twenty-third Iowa t 
Iiegiment. The exposures and hardships of j 
war terminated his life \vlien he was but twen- 
ty-six years of age. He had married Hester 
A. Jones, who Avas also a native of Ohio 
and a rejn'esentative of one of the old families 
of that state. After her husband's death she 
went to live with her father, Thomas F. Jones, 
wlio Avas an early settler of this state, coming 
from Ohio abo\it 1848 or 1849 and making 
his home near Ames, Iowa. At a later date 
]\rrs. Bevington was again married, becoming 
the wife of Phillip Sawwer, who died in 1900 
at the age <if sixty years. She still siirvives 
him. 

Thomas F. Be\-ington ]iursued his education 
ill till' foiiinion schools through the winter 
iiioiitlis until twenty years of age and afterward 
attended the Iowa State College at Ames, where 
he pursued a four years' scientific course and 
was graduated in the class of 1884. He next 
entered the low-a State University at Iowa 
('ity. where he ])ursued a two years' course in 
law. By working as a farm hand he earned 
the money necessary to meet the expenses of 
his college education and with great diligence 
he a|i]ilied himself to the mastery of the prin- 
ci])ics of jurisprudence and was able to pass 
the examination three months prior to the close 
of the scholastic year. This enabled him to be 
admitted to the bar and begin the practice of 




y-yn Q^ 



PAST AND PKESE]S'T OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



471 



law in the same spring of his graduation — • 
1886. He located for practice in Sioux City 
on the 10th of ilay of that year and entered 
into partnership with J. H. Burton under the 
firm style of Burton k Bevington, which rchi- 
tion was continued for three years. In the 
fall of 1888 he was elected county attorney 
and the following year the partnership was 
dissolved and Jlr. Bevington served lor three 
consecutive terms in the office, pro\'iiii;- a most 
capable defender of the legal interests of the 
county. He afterward formed a partnership 
with C'raig L. Wright and E. 11. Hubbard 
to take charge of the trial work of the firm 
under the name of Wright, Hubbard k Bev- 
ington. Two years later this firm dissolved 
partnership and ]Mr. Bevington was alone in 
practice for two years. In 1898 he formed a 
partnership with J. L. Kennedy that was main- 
tained for two years under the firm name of 
Bevington & Kennedy. He was tlieu again 
alone in practice for thi'ee years, from 11)00 
until 1903, when on the 15th of January of 
the latter year he admitted W. T. Foley un- 
der the firm name of Bevington & Foley. For 
several years he made a specialty of trial work 
which led him into corporation law and ques- 
tions involving large interests oiitside of his 
own city as well as in the courts here. 

On the 6th of June, 1888, occurred the mar- 
riage of Mr. Bevington and Miss Anna G. ilc- 
Connor, of Monticello, Iowa, a daughter of 
John and Sarah Jane (Graham) McConnor. 
They now have two children, Edna A. and 
Lloyd E. Mr. Bevington is a meml)er of Ty- 
rian lodge, No. 508, A. F. & A. M., with which 
he has been identified since 1888 and he also 
belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. 
In politics he is a Republican and is an active 
factor in local and state circles of his party. 
He has attended various state conventions and 
some of the national conventions and his in- 
fluence in Iowa is strongly felt in behalf of Re- 
publican principles. He is a man of strong 
intellectuality, thoroughly conversant with the 



jirinciples of jurisjn'udence, devoted to the in- 
terests of his clients and yet always upholding 
the majesty of the law. 



FRANK X. BABFE. 



Frank X. Babue, who is engaged in con- 
tracting and building in Siuux City and also 
operates to some extent in real estate, was 
born in Aloutreal, Canada, December 20, 1842. 
His parents, F. X. and Zoe (Duquett) Babue, 
were lioth natives of Canada. The father was 
a farmer liy oeeupation and removed to Cham- 
plain, Clinton county, X'ew York, in 1S49. 
There he conducted a flax mill until 1870. 
when he took up his abode in Springfield, 
Massachusetts. In 1ST6 he came to Iowa, set- 
tling at Salix, Woodbury county, where his re- 
maining days were passed, his death there oc- 
rurring in 1892. His wife passed away there 
in 1893. 

Frank X. Balme largely acquired his edu- 
cation in Canada and to some extent attended 
the schools of Xew York. When seventeen 
years of age he began to learn the trade of 
cabinet-making, at which he served a three 
years' apprenticeship. In 1870 he accom- 
l^anied the others of the family to Springfield, 
Massachusetts, where he worked at the car- 
penter's trade, and in 1875 he came to Sioux 
City, Iowa, where he lias since been engaged 
in contracting and building, easily maintaining 
a foremost jjlace as a representative of this 
line of industrial activity because of his supe- 
rior skill and ability. He is one of the two 
contractors who managed to stand the affairs 
of the financial panic of 1894. He has been 
connected with large and important building 
operations, erecting many of the best structures 
of the city and constantly employs a large 
force of workmen. He now has considerable 
real estate in Sioux City, having made judi- 
cious investments and at the present time owns 



-i'ri 



PAST AND rUESEXT Oi" WOODBIUY COUNTY 



several houses which reruni to liiiii a good 
rental. 

In 1S75 occurred the uuirriage of ^Ir. liahue 
and Miss Mercedes Delicr, a daughter of Peter 
Delier, a native of Canada. :Mrs. Babue died 
August 3, ISOT. There were seven children of 
that marriage: Albert, who is married and 
resides in Sioux City; Frank X., who died at 
the age of twenty-one years: Willie, who died 
at the age of twenty years: Alfonso, who is 
connected with the Curtis Sash ic Dcxir Coni- 
jianv and is also a member of the firm of 
F. X. Babue & Sons : Edmund, who is a mem- 
ber of the firm and acts as bookkeeper : Arthur 
and George, who are at home and attend the 
public schools. 

Mr. Babue and his family are members of 
the Koman Catholic church and he is also 
connected with the Knights of Coltimbus. He 
holds membership relations with the Con- 
tractors & Builders Exchange and. in fact, was 
one of its organizers in the year ISSS. He 
also belongs to the Sioux City Boat Club and 
is a director in the Sioux City Industrial Asso- 
ciatiou. He has made a close and practical 
study of the needs of the city and its possibili- 
ties and has labored to promote its welfare 
along substantial lines, while in business cir- 
cles by reason of his honorable and straight- 
forward conduct and thorough reliability he 
has gained uniform confidence and a very lib- 
eral share of the public patronage in his line. 



ALBERT SEVEXIXG. 

Albert Sevening, deceased, was one of the 
prominent farmers of Listen township aud a 
man highly respected and esteemed by all who 
knew him. A native of Germany, he was born 
in the Rhine Province, May 5, 1855, aiul when 
a boy came to America with his parents, Peter 
and Katie Sevening. The family first local ed 
in Chicago, Illinois, and from there removed to 
Carroll coiinty, Iowa, where the father of our 



subject died about ISSO. He made farming hi" 
life work, that occupation being followed by all 
the ancestors of our subject as far as knovn. 
The mother survived her husband about four 
years and died in 1SS4. 

Albert Sevening acqiiired his education in 
the schools of his native land and early became 
familiar with the work of the farm while as- 
sisting his father in the ctiltivation of the fields. 
For one year after reaching manhood he en- 
gaged in the saloon business, but not liking that 
occupation he resimied agricultural pursuits. 
At one time he owned a farm one mile north 
of the present family home and on selling that 
bought two hundred and forty acres, which is 
now successfully operated vmder the manage- 
ment of Mrs. Sevening, who is a woman of 
more than ordinary business ability and sound 
judgment. She devotes considerable attention 
to stock raising and now has fifty-three head 
of cattle, seven horses and seventy hogs. 

On the 10th of August, 1885, Mr. Sevening 
was iinited iu marriage to Miss Annie Uehle, 
who was born in Germany, August 21, 1859, 
a daughter of Joseph and Annie (Welty) 
Uehle, who emigrated with their family to 
.rVmerica in 188-1 and settled in Woodbury coim- 
ty, Iowa. Here the father died September 5, 
1892, but the mother is still living and makes 
her home one mile from Danbiiry. They had 
five children, namely: Joseph, Rosie, Annie, 
John and Jacob. ^Irs. Sevening was princi- 
pally reared and educated in this state, and 
by her marriage became the mother of seven 
children whose names and dates of birth are 
as follows: Annie, October 11, 1SS6; John 
William, August 25, 1888 ; Elizabeth K., Aug- 
ust :n. ISliO; Mary D., February 15, 1893; 
William. October 11, 1895; Teresa Rosa, Oc- 
tober 27. ISI'T: and Rosa R., September 7, 
1900. All of the older children are attending 
school in Danbury. The family are communi- 
cants of the St. Mary's German Catholic church 
and are people of prominence in the community 
wliere thev reside. Mr. Sevenino- was also a 




ALBEET SEVEXIXG AXD FAMlfA'. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



475 



member of the Catholic church and was a Dem- 
ocrat iu politics. For two years he held the 
office of school director. He died December 
17, T,M)1, hdiiorcd and respected by all who 
knew him. 



Wll.LlA.M K. DUNCANSON. 

General favniiui;' and stock-raisint;' rhunis the 
time and attention of William R. Duncan- 
son, whose farm of two hundred and forty acres 
on section 22, Rutland township, is an excel- 
lent and well improved property. He was born 
in Jones countj^, Iowa, February 20, 1860, and 
is of Scotch parentage and ancesti'y. His 
father, Andrew Duncanson, was born iu the 
land of the hills and heather at Stirling, his 
natal <lay being December 31, 1823. He grew 
to manhood there and afterward married 
ilarian Robinson. Subsequent to this impor- 
tant event in his life he came to the United 
States, crossing the Atlantic in 1852. He spent 
a short time in Connecticut and then came to 
Iowa, purchasing land and making a location 
in Jones county. In 1855 he returned to Scot- 
land and the following year brought his wife 
to the home which he had prepared for her. 
His first location was in Clay township, Jones 
county, where he opened up a tpiarter section 
of land, developing a good farm. Three chil- 
dren were born unto him and his wife in that 
homestead. Mrs. Duncanson passed aAvay in 
January, 1889, and her husband, surviving her 
more than eleven years, died in February, 
1900. 

William R. Duncanson was reared in Jones 
county on the old home farm and early became 
familiar with the duties of field and meadow. 
When his services were not needed in the de- 
\elopment of the land or the care of crops he 
attended the public schools. He continued witb 
his father until his marriage, which was cele- 
brated in his nineteenth year on the 2nd of 
October, 1879. He wedded Miss Marv J. 



Orr, a native of Massachusetts, liorn in the 
city of Boston, and a daughter of David H. 
( )rr, a native of Ireland, who on coming to the 
United States established his home in Massa- 
chusetts. In 1865, however, he left that state 
and came to Iowa, settling in Jones county 
upon a farm, upon which he reared his family. 

]\lr. and ^Irs. Duncanson began their domes- 
tic life u])oii a farm in Jones county, where 
they lived for about five years and then came 
to Woodbury county. Here ^Ir. Duncanson 
began to improve the property which has since 
been his home. He has added to and remod- 
eled his residence, has built two good barns, 
and there is n<i\r a tine grove of shade trees 
and an orchard wliirh are of his own planting. 
He has divided the farm into fields of con- 
venient size by well kept fences and has added 
all modem e(inipments and accessories so that 
he now has one of the model farms of the 
twentieth century. It conqn-ises two hundred 
and forty acres of rich land and its productive- 
ness is such that he annually harvests good 
crops, which find a ready sale on the market. 

Unto My. and ilrs. Duncanson have been 
born eight children, who are still living; 
Thomas, who is living on the home farm ; 
Josie, a student at Cedar Falls, loAva; David; 
Jeannette; Anna; Roy; Marion; and McKin- 
ley. They also lost one son, W^illiam. 

Politically Mr. Duncanson is a stanch Re- 
publican who has served as township trustee 
and is now president of the school board in his 
district. He has been a delegate to county 
conventions and keeps well informed on the 
(luestions and issues of the day. He belongs to 
Pierson lodge, I. O. O. F., of which he is now 
filling the office of noble grand, and he is like- 
wise connected with the encampment at Cor- 
rectionville, while with the Modern Woodmen 
camp at Pierson, Xo. 3364, he is affiliated. In 
matters of citizenship he is progressive and 
public-spirited, giving an active support to all 
measures which he believes will contribute to 
the general good. 



476 TAST AND PKE8ENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 

.MIiS. III'IIJ'IX JIAM 1 l/l'OX. ^laiidiiii; ill Cliard, England, ami was visilcd 

.. Ii\' iiiic 111' iln'ir American dcscondaiils in I'.'Dii. 

This well known inaiiist is a (■o>iii(i|i(,Uian, ■. , ,i • . vi 

1 lie liniiliiTs came to tins coiintrv with nnnicr- 

liavinti- liccn Ihtii m l'.iiiilan<l, lir(ini;hi np in , i^ i- i • , i" i i 

° • I 1 • "11^ niniT hmilish emigrants, wlio purchased a 

Dublin, sent to stud\' piano under 1 he sirirt ■^ ,■ i" i , i ^i i i +• 

' • ' • 1 1 (■(uiMdcralilc Iran (d land along both banks ol 

regime of the Conservaidiiv. ^arl-^. whi're llicrc ^ 

" , I u 1 1 ibr launlon nvcr in rivmoutb eountv, iMassa- 

are onlv thirty-six i;irl sindeiils allowed eacdi ,• .i ' , +• , -i +• i 

"' (dinsetts, troni the reiiinani (d a trihc ot In- 

year, with an age liniil (d seventeen vears ujinii ,i , i i i . i , ,• i 4' . i . 

•^ ' ■- dians (bat bad but a slmrl tune ludore been 

all instrumental classes; .■onsei|iieiitly, her ,.,•,, , . 'v\ 

aliiHist extenninated li\- a [daiiiie. 1 he juir- 

plavinii' has a brillianev, siireiiess and intense ,i' ■ i i' i i ,i 

f . ^ ',,.,, I 1 (diasers entered upon tbeir land ami heeainetlie 

(innlilv wliicdi ixn with the I'lvneli scliuol, alas, , m i ,, -n 

' ■ ■ lirst settlers (d launlon, .Massacbnsetts. I he 

loo little known liere. As an old tuner said, i v\- u n ^ i ,i *■ 

brothers, .lobii and Walter Dean, took the irec- 

"That's tlie wav Knbeiistein iilayeil. Al- , , 

'■ , mans oath, December 4, l().;s, and were two 

though Mrs. Hamilton did not belong to that ,• ., ^ , .- ,• t^ * 'Pi 1 • , 

<= • • I .■ 1 "i '1"-' tirst Ireemen ol Taunton. 1 be subiect 

nation, she received reeoi;nition becan>e ot her ,■ , • , ^ i i i i j.- t i n ■ »i 

ot this sketch desceiuled irom John Dean in the 

exceptional abilitv and her brillianev as a ]ier- ,•,,•,• i i i» i ■ r i i 

i ■ , 1 • loilowui'; line, dohn Dean, born in Knglaiid 

former She soeni Iwo xcars there, lea\'iiii;' at , . , , , i • .i. ' 

^^ ' • ; about UiOO, married and settled in 1 aunton, 

the age of sixteen veais. She was sent from , ... 

" • ,. , , . T^ . Jrassachusetts, about 1637. Unto him and Ins 

Wisconsin to the W orbl s ('ohmibian Jbxposi- . . , ^ 

. wit(^ .Mice was born a son, m lOdl) — the nrst 

tion in Chieauo, and gave iiiano recitals in the , •, i i • t . i ^ i • ^i 

^ '^ ' while child born in I aunton — and to him thev 

Wisconsin and Womeirs i'.iuldings, and a spc- , +-oti,„,. '+• 

L;a\'e the name (d .John, lie was the latlier oi 

cial medal was conferred upon her. Mrs. llam- ', , ,> .. i i i i c <. i ic 

' 1 ■ 1 ■ dolin Dean (od), who was born vSeptember 18, 

ilton has ev(U'v reason to be proud cd the tael ._ -p . , ,,r ., 

' . . 1(1,1. Ills son, Ebenezer Dean, married W ait- 

thal Max lieiidix, the violinisl, |iaid a visit to . i ^^i • t ii n 

' ,. ,. still ( arver, and their son, Lazidl Dean, mar- 

her home at the time he plaved in Sioux ( 'itv, •,,,,, , m -i i t\ j.- 

.' ■ . 1 • I'lcd Kiith Leonard. Philander Dean, son ot 

and also of the ix'coiiiiit ion which Tailennvski , ,, ,. , i .t,> i^-n'- .„ ,,. 

Laz(dl Dean, was born .lanuarv lit), livi, mar- 
paid her, when he gave a concert in Sionx City, . . , ', , , 
i ' >" ried l.avuia llavward, and thev liecamc the 
bv sendine,' her a note to call and see him u]t<in ■ +• fi '..„.,.., ij.„.l- 
'^ . iiareiits ot oiir >nli|eer. 1 he tather was a blacK- 
tlie stage after the perforinance. Mrs. Hamib . ■, . ,, ., 

i^ ' . r 1 smilh and removed Iroiii Hridgewater, now 

ton began to idav when six vears of age, and ,, ,, ■,, \ ^^ ^ -p * tii;,, ; . 

'^ ' • ■ " l!ro(d<ton, .Massachusetts, to I remont, Illinois, 

her life has been lari;elv devoted to her art, of . ,. 

in loou. 

which she is to-dav the most notable repre- ,, , • i i i -r\ i ■ <. 

' Captain Jose[)li A. Dean, whose name intro- 

scntative in the northwest. ^^^^^,^,^ ^j^.^ ^.^^^^^.^^^ completed a high-school edu- 

ealion in his nati\e town of Tremont, Illinois, 
and then ]iiirsue(l a business course in Bell's 
.rOSKlMl A. DKAX. Commercial College, in Chicago, Illinois, 
Joseph A. Dean, a veh'ran of the Civil war, where Ik' was graduated in the spring of 1857. 
was born al Treinoni, Illinois, .lannary I'.i, Uis .'arly vontb passed uncventfull.y. He 
1839. The ancestry of the family in America taught s(diool for some time in Illinois— in 
can be traced back to two brothers, John and Tazewell. W<io,lfor.l and Livingston counties- 
Walter Dean, who .-aine to America about 1(137 after completing his own education and later 
from Chard, near 'Taunton, England. They engaged in clerking in a postoffice and in fol- 
were descended fmin an ancient English fam- lowing oiIku- jmrsuits until August, 1862, when 
ily of that name and the old stone house in he enlisted for service in the Union Army. It 
which the ancestors lived for vears is still was on the I'.th of that month that he jcnued 




MKS. HELEN llAMJLTON. 



PAST AND PRESENT OP WOODBUKY COUNTY 



479 



Coinpain' D, of the One Ilimdred and Twenty- 
fourth Eegiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry 
as a private. He was made corporal ui^on the 
the organization of the company and was pro- 
moted to sergeant before the regiment entered 
the field. He discharged the duties of orderly 
sergeant from the time the regiment left the 
camj^ of instruction up to and including the 
seige of Vicksburg, ending in its capitulation. 
After its fall he was sent home on sick furlough 
and while there he read his own obituary in 
two newspapers, one published in Chicago and 
one in Alton, Illinois, for it was reported that 
he was dead. He was, however, destined for 
further service, and after his recovery he re- 
joined his regiment and was almost immedi- 
ately detailed for duty as acting sergeant- 
major of the Fifth Kegiment of United States 
Colored Artillery (Heavy), and as soon as 
there was a vacancy in the office he was; com- 
missioned second lieutenant and acting regi- 
mental quartermaster, while a month later he 
was commissioned first lieutenant and regiment- 
al quartermaster, and upon being mustered out 
he was commissioned "captain by brevet for 
meritorious services." He was in the army for 
more than three years and nine months and 
went through the usual hard experiences of the 
man who is engaged in active field duty. 

After his return from the war Captain Dean 
followed farming near Tremont, Illinois, for 
two years, and was later in the nursery and 
small fruit business at Leavenworth, Kansas, 
for two years. He next turned his attention to 
banking and real-estate operations at Storm 
Lake, Iowa, where he remained for nineteen 
years, and since that time he has been engaged in 
the real-estate business at Sioux City, where he 
now handles much valuable property and nego- 
tiates many important realty transfers, while 
in business circles he has gained a very desir- 
able reputation for progressive methods and 
honorable dealing. 

Captain Dean was married August 21, 18R5, 
at San Jose, Illinois, to Miss Augusta C. Rob- 



inson, and as he was still in the army she went 
to the front with him and remained with him 
until he was mustered out, May 20, 1866. 
They have two children, Eva and Origen S. 
The son married Jessie L. Moore, November 
11, 1896, and they have two children: Joseph 
M., five years of age; and Martha, a year old. 
]\Irs. Dean's ancestors, both paternal and ma- 
ternal, emigrated from England to America, 
some in 1620 and some a few years later, and 
settled near Taunton, Massachusetts, and rep- 
resentatives of both families went to Tremont, 
Illinois, at the same time. Mrs. Dean is a 
lineal descendant of ]\liles Standish and John 
Alden. 

When Captain Dean entered the army he ad- 
vocated Democratic principles, but ere the 
close of the war he became a stanch Republican 
and has since supported the party. He has 
never sought or desired political office and has 
ncxer held but two, and to one of them he was 
elected in Illinois, in 1867, entirely without 
his knowledge or solicitation. He has been a 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic 
for many years and now belongs to General 
Hancock Post, of Sioitx City. For twenty- 
eight years he has been a Master Mason and 
served as master of the lodge at Storm Lake, 
Iowa, for two years. He now affiliates with 
Landmark Lodge, of this city, and has lived a 
life in harmony with its teachings. He has 
never sought to figure before the public in any 
other light than a liusiness man, content to do 
his part in his own community, and wherever 
he has lived he has been foiind a loyal, pro- 
gressive citizen, reliable and trustworthy. 



WILLIAM F. IvNITTEL. 

William F. Knittel, whose intense and well 
directed activity in business circles proved the 
basis of his success, has been a resident of 
Sioux City since 1876. He was born in Haw- 
ley, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, Thursday, 



480 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBURY COUKTY 



July 8, 1857, a sou of Johu aud Haiuiah 
(Siedler) Kuittel, both of whom are now de- 
ceased. The father, a native of Germany, came 
to America in ISiS aud was married in Haw- 
ley, Pennsylvania. He was a cabinetmaker by 
trade and followed that pnrsnit for many years, 
but spent his last days in the enjoyment of a 
well earned rest and honorable retirement from 
further labor. He died October 13, 1903. 

William F. Knittel spent his childhood and 
youth in the east and pursued his edtication in 
the ijublic schools of Scrauton, Pennsylvania, 
and in Eastman's Business College, at Pough- 
keepsie, Xew York. Thus qualified for the 
practical duties of a business career, he came to 
the west in 1876, settling at Sioux City, where 
he entered the employ of C. Breun, a grocer, 
with whom he remained until 1SS4. His long 
continued service is indicative of the fact that 
he gave entire satisfaction to his employer. 
The careful hiisbanding of his resources during 
that jjeriod enabled him, in the year men- 
tioned, to engage in business on his own ac- 
count and he opened a grocery under the firm 
name of Elliott & Knittel, having purchased 
the store of M. W. ilurphy, at the Cdrner of 
Eourth and Pearl streets. They etnidueted 
business there for two years and !Mr. Knittel 
then sold his interest and in 1886 went into 
a grocery store alone. He prospered in the 
new undertaking and for some time conducted 
two stores, enjoying a large and constantly in- 
creasing trade. He paid strict attention to 
business, carefully watching all indications 
pointing to success and so utilizing his (:>pportu- 
nities as to win prosperity. ]\Ioreover, his 
strict conformity to the ethics of mercantile life 
won him public confidence and insured him a 
contimiance of public jiatronage. In 1805 he 
disposed of his stores. 

On Wednesday, the 11th of May, 1881, Mr. 
Knittel was married to !Miss Emma Selzer, a 
daughter of Rudolph and Theresa Selzer, who 
are represented elsewhere in this volume. Unto 
them have been born eight children : Those 



deceased are: Louis, who was born January 
18, 18S6, and died July 31, 1888; Josephine, 
who was burn September 16, 1888, and died 
on the 1th of December following; and Con- 
rad, who was born Xovember 11, 1896, and 
died on the 30th of the same month. The liv- 
ing children are: Marie Theresa, who was 
born :Mareh iO, 1882, and is the wife of Fred 
\V. (Joinery, a shoe merchant of Sioux City, 
Iowa, liy whom she has one child, Frederick 
RTidolph, born Xovember 7, 1903 ; Emma 
Celia, born January 27, 1881; Francis, who 
was born February 17, 1890, and is attending 
high school ; John Rudolph, who was born 
Jiily 29, 1892, and is also a high school stu- 
dent ; and Joanna, born Xovember 18, 1899. 

ilr. Knittel is a member of the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks, and in poli- 
tics he is stanch Republican. A factor 
in the business circles of the city from 
1876 until 1895, he aided in advancing 
its mercantile interests, and in his own 
establishments kept pace with the progressive 
sjiirit of the times, and with the growth of the 
city as it emerged from villagehood and took 
on cosmopolitan character and proportions. 
His jirosjierity is attribtitable to his owia ef- 
forts and his life history is illustrative of the 
fact that the liuilding of a successful career 
and tli(^ winning of an honorable name may 
be accomplished simnltaneously. 



JOHX X. BORAH. 



John X. Borah, living on section 16, Union 
townshijj, near Correetionville, is a native of 
Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in Gram 
county on the 13th of May, 1859. He is a son 
of James X. Borah, who was born at Bowling 
Green, Kentucky, and in 1849 became a resi- 
dent of Wisconsin. He was one of the first 
settlers of Grant cotmty aud took an active part 
in the pioneer development of that portion of 
the state. He married Miss Mary Salmon, a 




MR. AND MBS. J. X. BORAH. 



P.IST AND PRES'ENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



483 



native of Indiana, and upon the lionie farm 
which he there opened np and developed he 
reared his family. He was widely recognized 
as one of the substantial, reliable and respected 
farmers of the community and he died there at 
the advanced age of seventy-two years. His 
wife survives him and is now enjoying good 
health at the advanced age of seventy-eight 
years. In their family were seven children 
who reached mature years and are all yet living. 

John N. Borah, whose name introduces this 
record, spent the days of his boyhood and youth 
upon the home farm in Grant county, Wisconsin. 
The children of his father's household are 
Mary, who is living with her mother in Wis- 
consin ; Elizabeth, the Avife of W. J. Dyer, of 
Lancaster, Wisconsin ; Esther, who married 
Kufus Jones, of Fennimore, Wisconsin; Wil- 
liam E., a farmer of Grant county, Wisconsin; 
John N. ; Charles E., who is living in Lan- 
caster, Wisconsin; and Cutler J., who resides 
on the old homestead. 

John !N. Borah, like the other memiiers of the 
family, enjoyed the educational privileges af- 
forded by the common schools. He, too, worked 
upon the home farm assisting in the labors of 
the fields from the time of early s^jring plant- 
ing until crops were gathered in the late 
autumn. He remained with his father until 
he attained his majority and not long after- 
ward be sought a eonipanidu and helpmate for 
life's journey, being united in marriage in 
Grant county on the 30th of December, 1880, 
to Miss Emma Gould, who was born in that 
county and was reared in the same neighbor- 
hood as her husband. Her father, Chaimcey 
Gould, was a native of Vermont and became a 
pioneer resident of Grant county, Wiseojisin, 
where he reared his family, numbering two 
children, the brother of Mrs. Borah being 
George B. Gould, who is a retired fanner now 
living in Schaller, Iowa. 

After his marriage Mr. Borah engaged in 
the cultivation of the Gould farm for a time 
and then located on the Borah farm, which he 



ciintinued to improve for five years. In 1887 
he removed to Iowa, locating in Sac coimty, 
where he again engaged in the tilling of the 
soil for five years. On the expiration of that 
period he removed to Schaller, where he car- 
ried on business for a year and in 1894 he ar- 
rived in Woodbury coimty, settling in Union 
township, where he now resides. He has two 
hundred and forty acres. Here he rebuilt and 
remodeled the house, also b^iilt outbuildings 
and, in fact, has improved the farm in so many 
ways that it is now one of the valuable prop- 
erties of this ])(irtion of the state. ]Sreatness 
and thrift characterize the entire place and 
the good crops harvested are the just reward 
for the care and cultivation which Mr. Borah 
bestows upon his land. 

Politically he is a stanch Republican, always 
voting a straight ticket, for he believes firmly in 
the principles of the party and thinks that its 
platform contains the best elements of good 
government. He has been elected and is now 
serving for the third term as township clerk, 
covering nearly six years. He has held a num- 
ber of school positions and the caiise of educa- 
tion has found in him a warm friend. He was 
also the promoter of and secured the rural tele- 
jihiine extending from Correctionville to Pier- 
son. He is a very public-spirited citizen, do- 
ing all in his power to j^romote the welfare of 
his community and to stimulate its substantial 
ailvancement through his earnest co-operation. 
Socially he is connected with the Modern Wood- 
men of America. His integrity and worth have 
stood the test of time and in Woodbury county 
he is known as an industrious farmer, reliable 
and respected. 



HAROLD L. HEIDELBERG. 

Success does not depend upon condition or 
environment, but upon the strong purpose and 
hmdnlilc andiition and the unfaltering energy 
I if I he individual, and it has been these qual- 
ifies which have made Harold L. Heidelberg 



484 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



a leading business man of Woodbury county. 
He has been actively identified with business 
affairs in Anthon for fourteen years, having 
located there in 1890. He was born in Alle- 
gheny county, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburg, 
on the 5th of February, 1854. His father, G. 
A. Heidelberg, was a native of Germany and 
was there reared. He was married, however, 
in Pennsylvania, the lady of his choice be- 
ing Miss Agnes Morrison, a native of that 
state. Mr. Heidelberg engaged in business in 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for a number of years 
and afterward i-emoved to West Virginia, 
where he carried on farming and merchandis- 
ing from 1858 until 1870. He then removed 
to Halifax county, Virginia, where he carried 
on general agricultural pursuits, spending his 
last years there. His death occiirred j^^ovem- 
ber 6, 1886, and his wife survived until Janu- 
ary 1-4, 1890. 

Harold L. Heidelberg of this review was 
reared to manhood in Halifax county, Vir- 
ginia, and received only common-school advan- 
tages. HoAvever, since arriving at years of ma- 
tiirity he has added largely to his knowledge 
through experience, reading and observation. 
He came west in 1887, making his way to 
Omaha, ^Nebraska, where he engaged in clerk- 
ing for three years, thus obtaining a good busi- 
ness training. In 1890 he removed to Anthon, 
where he accepted a clerkship, and on the 11th 
of December, 1893, he began business on his 
own accoitnt, opening a general store. He in- 
creased the stock from year to year and in 1899 
he built a large, two-story business house, the 
first brick business block of the town. This 
he filled with a well selected line of general 
merchandise and he has developed an excellent 
trade, having now a patronage which makes 
him one of the prosperous merchants of the 
county. He has also built a good residence in 
Anthon and he purclmsed the one in which he 
now resides. 

On the 6th of September, 1893, in this place, 
Mr. Heidelberg was united in marriage to Miss 



Lida Bradley, a native of Xew York and a 
(laugliter of James and Agnes Bradley, who 
were formerly from the Empire state. Mr. 
and Mrs. Heidelberg have one daughter, Lucile. 
He is a Royal Arch Mason, belonging to the 
blue lodge at Anthon and to Haggai Chapter, 
Xo. 120, 11. A. M., at Kiugsley, Iowa. He is 
now serving for the second term as master of 
the lodge. He is likewise identified with the 
Knights of Pythias fraternity, nf wliicli he is 
a past chancellor. Politically he is an earnest 
Democrat. In matters of citizenship he is 
])ulilic-spirited and progressive and has con- 
trilnited in large measure toward the uiilmild- 
ing and improvement of the town. He b^iilt the 
first brick business hoiise here and has donemucli 
to extend further improvement along other 
lines. His commercial career has been char- 
acterized by strong purpose and honorable deal- 
ing and his trade has expanded in keeping witli 
niddcrn Imsincss ideas and methods. lie well 
deserves liis jircisperify and is looked upon l)v 
liis fellow men as a representative and highly 
resix'ctcil citizen. 



EDWIjS^ e. leoxard. 

The prosperity of any community, town or 
city, dejiends on its commercial activity and 
trade relations, tlierefore the real upbuilders 
of a town are those who stand at the head of 
its leading biisinesses. As such Edwin E. 
Leonard well deserves mention when writing 
a history of Correctionville. Mr. Leonard was 
born in Columbus, Ohio, May 14, 1854, but 
in childhood removed to Woodbury county with 
his father and here grew to nianhond. His 
father located on a fine quarter section of land 
in L'nion township and here the yoimg lad, 
battling witli the adverse elements of frontier 
life, developed those qualities of integrity and 
industry tlint have proved his worth to the 
community in his maturer years. 

His education w-as obtained in the country 
schools and in Correctionville, after which he 




EDWIX E. LEONARD. 



PAST AND PKES'ENT OF WOUDBUKY COUNTY 



487 



■ accepted a clerkship with the inercaiitile estab- 
lishment of A. J. Davis in Correctioiiville. 
Two years later he entered the employ of 
George Edmunds & Company and after four 
years with them he entered the firm of O. A. 
Gate & Company, with whom he was associated 
as clerk, manager and partner for the next six- 
teen years. In 1898 in partnership with Earl 
Edmunds he organized the exclusive men's fur- 
nishing house now so well known as "The Re- 
liable." 

Mr. Leonard was married in Woodbury coun- 
ty in 1883 to Miss Mary E. Ruch, who was 
born near Naperville, Illinois, and educated 
there. Her father removed to Iowa, locating 
near Pierson in Rutland township, this coun- 
ty. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard have three children, 
Bessie, Merle and Evalyn. ^Ir. and ilrs. Leon- 
ard are public-spirited and contribute gener- 
ously to all causes that tend to make man bet- 
ter. They attend the Methodist Episcopal 
church and take an active part in its work 
and that of other organizations of a similar 
nature. 

Mr. Leonard's life has been one of continu- 
ous activity and open to all his neighbors. He 
has full sympathy with all forms of honest la- 
bor. His interests arc thoroughly identified 
with those of northwestern Iowa, and he has 
ever been ready to co-operate in developing its 
great resources. He has proven himself a good 
citizen and neighbor in the full sense of the 
word, and many of his tried customers and 
friends would take his word as quickly as 
they would a government bond. 



ROBERT J. ANDREWS. 

Robert J. Andrews, who is engaged in the 
real estate and insurance business in Sioux 
City, is a native son of Iowa, his birth having 
occurred at New Providence in 18G0. His 
parents were William E. and Mary E. (Par- 
isho) Andrews. The father was born in Din- 



widdle count}', Virginia, and was a mechanic 
and farmer. He gave his political support to 
the Republican party for many years and in 
his later life supj)orted the Prohibition princi- 
jjles. His death occurred in I'JUO, when he was 
eighty-three years of age. His wife, who was 
born in North Carolina, died in 1884 at the 
age of sixty years. They were the parents of 
five children, all of whom are yet living. 

Robert J. Andrews, having acquired his 
education in the iniblic schools, engaged in 
teaching for one year. He began business on 
his own account in Chamberlain, South Da- 
kota, operating in real estate there until 1887. 
During his residence in that state he also served 
as treasurer of Brule coiinty for five years, hav- 
ing first been apj^ointed to the oifice to fill a 
vacancy and then elected. In 1888 he removed 
to Sioux City, Iowa, where he began dealing 
in real estate, insurance and fidelity bonds. He 
has ofiices in the Metropolitan building and has 
secured a good clientage along the line of his 
chosen pursuit. He has thoroughly informed 
himself concerning i)roperty values in this part 
of the state and has negotiated many important 
realty transfers, which have contributed to the 
business development of the community. He 
belongs to the real estate board and he also does 
a fair business in insurance. 

In 188G occurred the marriage of Mr. An- 
drews and Miss Lulu W. Skerry, a daughter of 
E. W. and Lucy J. Skerry. She was born in 
Brooklyn, New York, and they have three chil- 
dren, Guy Ward, Llelen Lincoln and Robert 
Skerry. Both Mr. and Mrs. Andrews are mem- 
bers of the Unitarian church and he belongs 
to the Commercial Club of Sioux City and to 
the ]\Iasonic fraternity. He votes with the 
Republican party, believing firmly in its prin- 
ciples and for four and a half years has served 
as a member of the city council. In all mat- 
ters pertaining to general progress and im- 
provement he is deeply interested and has put 
forth his best efforts for the welfare of his 
adopted county. In business relations he is 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



notably i^roiiipt and relialilc and in his life 
record has disjihiyed the traits of character 
which in evcrv land and clime conunand re- 
spect and confidence. 



HEXKY BRUJvTE. 



Henry Brnne, who for twenty-one years has 
been a resident of Wodbnry county aitil i^ now 
a representative farmer of Union township, liv- 
ing on section 21, was born in Waldeck, Ger- 
many, October 17, ISf'.o. His ]>arents were 
Carl and Wilhelniina ( liest ) Brnne, l)oth of 
whom were natives of (iernuuiy. The father 
was a farmer by occnpatioii. reared his family 
in Germany and s])ent his entire life there, 
passing away in 1883. His widow still snr- 
vives him and resides at the old home there. 
Tn the family were five chihlren, three of whom 
are yet living: Henry, of this re^-iew ; Wilhel- 
niina, the wife <if William Degerhardt, of Ger- 
many, and Alliert, who is now engaged in farm- 
ing in Idaho. 

Henry Brnne remained a resident of tlio 
fatherland until eighteen years of age and dur- 
ing that time became familiar with farm labor, 
while in the public schools he acquired his edu- 
cation. His knowledge of the English tongue 
has been largely ae(|nii'ed since he canie to 
Iowa and after crossing the Atlantic he had to 
acquaint himself with the manners and customs 
of the people in many respects different from 
the Teutonic race. It was in ISSi' that he came 
to the United States, sailing from Ilandnirg to 
N"ew York. He did not tarry on the Atlantic 
coast, however, but nuide his way at once into 
the interior of the country, joining some cous- 
ins who were then living in Pottawattamie 
county, Iowa. There lie worked for a year 
as a farm hand and in Iss.'! lie came to Wood- 
bury county, where he was emiiloyed by the 
month as a farm hand during three years, (^n 
the expiration of that jieriod lie ojierated rented 
land for three \-eai-s and in iss'.i lie liouiiht his 



present farm and liegan cultivating and im- 
pro\ing it. His labors in this direction have 
since been continuous. Tie broke the prairies, 
fenced the ]ilace, built a good house and barns 
an<l cribs, has planted an orchard which is in 
good bearing condition and has continued the 
work of improvement iintil his property is now 
one of the excellent farms of Union township, 
comprising one hundred and si.xty acres on 

section I'l. 

On the olst day of May, IS!*:], in Pottawatta- 
mi(_' county, Iowa, ilr. Brnne was united in 
marriage to ]\Iiss Albcrtina Puttmann, a native 
of Davenport, Iowa, who was reared, however, 
in Pottawattamie county. They have four 
children, Anna, Elmer, ^linnie and Laura. 
The jiai'ents were reared in the Lutheran 
eliureh. ^Ir. Brnne is identified with the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, belonging to Correctionville 
lodge. He \'otes with the Democratic party, 
is interested in community afi'airs and fiir four 
years he served as a director of the schools and 
is now jn-esident of the board. He is particu- 
larly ])rogressive in his ideas concerning educa- 
tional advancement and be gives hearty co- 
operation to many other movements for the 
])ublic good. He has deep affection for the 
land of his adojition, for in .\nierica he has 
worked his way upward from humble position 
to success. He is a truly self-made man, who 
by bard labor, keen Inisincss ability and en- 
ergy has conquered all difliculties in his path 
and become the possessor of valuable farming 
]iro]ierty. 



EABL EDiH'XDS. 

Earl Edmunds, of Correctionville, Iowa, 
was born near Burr Oak, Winneshiek county, 
Iowa, January 2(5, ISfiO, and has lived within 
the state ]>ractically all his life, with the excep- 
tion of about one year's residence in ilinnesota. 
^Ir. Edmunds' father, George IJolliu Edmunds, 
was born in the state of New York, in April, 




HENRY BKUXE AND FAMILY. 



I'AST AND ri;i';si';N'i' ui'' woodi'.ck'v ('()|■^•'|•^• 



491 



ISiid, :iiiil is slill li\iiin'. lie wiis :i iiiiiiislcr ol' 
llir Mclliciilisl K|iisc(,|i:il rliiiivli fnr n iiiiiiilicr 
(if vc'ii's ;iii<l hilci' ;i iiiinislcr ill llic l"'rcu\vill 
li:i|ilisl cliiiivli. Ill IS.-,;) (icoi'Mc Kdlliii Jvl- 
iiiiiiiils WHS iiinrricil id iMnily Aili'lia 'I'liMis, 
llir iiKillici' (if \']:\v\ I'jIiiiiiikIs. The iiintcriKil 
ti rniiiHal licr nf Mr. Ivliiiiiiids wiis Lcdiiiird 
'I'lililis, wild I'di' a iiiiiiilicr dl' years cdiKliiclcd 
a hdlcl ill lliii-r Oak, Iowa, and llir ,i;raiid- 
iiidllicr was a Miss ilcAllislcr, wild was iiiar- 
i-ii'<l Id Lcdiiard 'I'lililis ill \cw ^'drk, and Id 
lliciii were Ikji'ii (Jiic soil and one datighlcr. The 
8dii, Williaiii Tuhbs, was killed by the Indiaii.s 
near Xiw Ulin, Minnesota, while making an 
dvirland li'i|) to California about the year 1855. 
I.i'diiard 'I'libbs was a veteran of the (Jivil war 
and died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, about 
iS77. ^Mr. Edmunds' motlifr died in Ndvciii- 
l)cr, lS!i;3, at l^aiidoii, Oref;on. 

Earl ivlniimds li\-cil willi liis pai'ciils in 
varidiis ]ilac('s in llir caslcrn part ot' llir stalu 
niilil llic year 1871, when the family located 
at S|iiril Lake, Iowa. Mr. Kdiiinnds slarled 
oiil in life I'di' himself in the year lS7'.t and 
came to ( 'drreclionvillc, where he remained 
alidiil si.K months, lie then started a stm'e at. 
W'aslila, Idwa, his store being the first at that 
jilace and I he only store between Cherokee and 
Correctioiiville at that time. Here he was mar- 
ried to iliss Mary Catherine Whisman, on 
July IS, ISSO. Mrs. Edmunds is a daughter 
of Andrew Jacksdii Whisman and Emeline 
Whisman, nee Pindell, and she was born 
March 1, ISCO, at Pontiac, Illinois. Her 
fatlier's peoph^ came from Virginia and on her 
grandmother's side were slaveholders before the 
Civil war. 

In the year 1880 Mr. Edmunds returned to 
Correctionvilh;, where he was engaged in the 
mercantile business for about one year, when 
he started another store at Washta. This time 
a much larger and better stock of goods was 
carried and the business was a success from 
the start. In 1S87 l\lr. Edmunds returned to 
Correctioiiville and enoaged in the real-estate 



and Idaii liiisiness iiiilll llie tall dl' 18S'J, at 
w liieli I inie lie had I'dnimeiieeil I he study of law. 
lie was gradiialeil frdin I lie Iowa ( 'dllege of 
Law at l)es Moines and was admilled lo the 
liar ill May, ISIM). Since that time he has been 
engaged in the jn-aeiice <jj' his profession at 
( 'dn-e<'l idiiville. His pradice has been a suc- 
cess and lias extendtnl Id all I lie various courts 
df I lie stale. Ill pcjlitics i\lr. Edmunds is a 
Kepnliliean, lias alwaNS taken a lively interest 
in llie welfare df iIk' parly, has I'dr a niimlier 
id' yeai's l)e<'ii a member of the county central 
committee, and while not asking for anything 
fdr himself has always worked hard for his 
frienils and lliinks himself wdl rejiaid for his 
elffu'ts when he succeeds in assisting good men 
to ofKcial positions. Mr. Edmunds has been 
twice elected mayor of Correctioiiville and for 
a number of years has been a member of the 
lioard of education. He has been actively en- 
gaged in business since he was nineteen years 
of ai^-e ami il is a source of ideasnre to him to 
always lie fduiid al his post of duty. He has 
a large acipiainlance over the state and has 
many i'riends among the lawyei'S and others 
who lia\-e met him in business and social rela- 
tions. He has great pride in his profession and 
thinks it is enough honor to any man to be 
known as a good lawyer. 

Mr. and Mrs. Edmunds have thret! daughters 
living: Grace Leiidi-a, who was married to N. 
1j. Abljott, January T), I'.tOl, and now living 
at St. Paul, Minnesota; Ivlna, a student at 
Iowa College, at Grinnell, Iowa ; and Lucile, 
a, student in the public schools of Correction- 
ville. Mrs. Abbott is a musician of consider- 
able merit, having obtained her musical edu- 
cation at Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin, Ohio. 
Edna is a graduate of the high school at C^or- 
rectionville and is now in her junior year at 
Grinnell. One child, Lmlla M., died in in- 
fancy. Mr. Edmunds is a mcmbei' of the Odd 
Eellows lodge and is a past grand. He is also 
a member of the Modern Woodmen of America 
and Knights of Pvthias lodtfes. "Mr. and Mrs. 



49-2 I'AS'l' AM) I'l.'KsKXT UK WOODIUl.'Y COLNTY 

Ivlnnnuls mihI tlicii- fiiiiiily nvr ;illilialcil wiili ;is inr his Imsiiifss aelivily and his fellow 
Mini iiichiIk rs uf the I'irst ( '(iiii^rcgaliniial Inwiisiucii manifested tlioir coufideiice in him 
cliurch of CiiiTcclidiix ilh". \>\ r\vvt\i\ix him to the (illicc of justice of the 

|icai-i', in which caiiacily lie served for twenty- 

six y<'ars. He was also schndl treasurer and 

ilii'ccldr ami lichl must of the other township 
]\IK8. SrSAX [',. I.IIHJV. |M,sition>, tiic duties of wiiieh he disehargcd 

Mrs. Susan 11. l.il.hy, who is the outicr of "'''i 'H^pateli and ea|ml.ility. llis political 
farming interests on section 1, Hi- Si,mx town- '^"i'l'"i'' "'^i^ Ki^''" i" i'"' -Ii<T"l'li<-"i» part}'. 
ship, Union connty. South Dai^oi'a. just across ''^'"''^' '"■'' ''>i^''-ii"l"^ <l'"'tli Mrs. Libby has 

the boundary line fn.m Iowa, was iiorn in '■'■'"'"'' =' l''"'f "'' ''"' ^''"■"'- "''il^ her son oper- 
Mausfield. ( ihio. April I'o, ls:;s, a <launhler of ="''^ ''"' '•'■"'•li'"''''' "^ i'- !^1"' lias about three 



( 'hristojihcr and Sarah ( ( 'oli'unin ) l-lxcrls, ihe 



hundred aci'cs o|' \cr\ tine land in Eix Si( 



lonncr a nalivc „{ Vermont an.l the latt.T .d' '""'I'^liil'- ''"i"" eounty, South Dakota, and 

.Maryland. 1 ler fal her .lie.l in Ohio, May li', ''"' '"<•">'"• l'''"'" ^'is proi)erty sui)plies her 

ISolt, and her m..ther passed away al the home "''''' ='" "'' ''"' '•'""^■'"■'^ ^n"' "'any of the lux- 

of .Mrs. Idhhy on the IMh (d .Vu-usl, ISStt. '"'''■^ "'' ''I'''- ■^''■- "'"1 -^f''^- ''i'''0' "C'^'ei' li'xl 

havin- tor aliont forty-..ne years survived her '"'^ '-li'l'li''" "^' 'I'l-i'- <'"■". l»it adopted two 

|,ii^|i.|iii| ^oiis and a ilaui;hter: (ieori;e, who is married 

.Mrs. l.ihliy pursu.'.l her education in the ami livin- in .M inne.sota ; Percy, who married 

schools of Manstield, Ohio, and in 185-i when ■^'"''■^ ^''=' ^^^^^^r, a daughter of George W. 

sixteen years of age went to lUin.ds, becoming ^' '"'■'•- P'^^tmaster of McCook, South Dakota, 

u resideiit .d' Kuda. ■Plier.' in ls.->7 she 1 anm ''>' '''""" '"' '^''^^ o"<^ c^"^'-''' ^0"^; and Tlilda, 

the wife of Itiehard II. Libby, a son .d' ,Tohn ''"' "■'^''' "'' '''''''"'^ no].kins, a resident farmer 
an,l .Mercy (Eobinson) Libby,' who were natives "'' "'- ''^'""•^ township. Mrs. Libby is a mem- 
of ilaine. but both ar.' now'deceased. For six '"■'' "^' ''"' ■^''•"""list Episcopal church and is 
years IMr. an.l Mrs. Libby cmtinued i,> reside "'''" '^"""" flii-"",siliout this portion of the 
in Illinois and then sought a h.mie in Si.urc '•"mH'T "' "-hi.'!! she has made her home for 
City, Iowa, where ihev arrive.l in June, 1S(1:\ ''Imost a half century. She has, therefore. 
They located where sli,. n,,w lives, securing a ■"'''" '"■'"■'■ '-lianiies sin<'e she arrived, as ad- 
claim which M r. I.il.by entered from ihe gov- \'ai'cem..nl an.l progress have been made 
.•rnment, Tluy worked on togetiier year after ''"""".i^l' ''"' earnest eli'orts o{ the enterprising 
year. .M i\ Libby snccessfully managing tlie agri- settlers, 
cultural |iuiviii|s while his wife look equally 
good care (d' the home and faithfully performed 

the labors of the hoiis,.|iold. He transformed -n,.vvi-Ti Qi^Ti->T-r 

., ., , . . ... , . , Hi.\.\K II. ShlDEL. 

the Willi prairie tract into riclily cultivated 

fields, and annually harxcsted good crops. He I-"rank II. Seidel, whose actixdty in business 

also made many improvements upon his land, has not only coui ributed to his individual suc- 

erecled good buildings, secured mo(lern machin- cess, but has also been an active factor in the 

ery and continued his farm work with enter- development id' his town, is now aceouuted one 

]n-ise and success until his life's labors were of the leading and representative merchants of 

ended in death im the Kith of December, 188!). Anthon, where he is engaged in dealing in lum- 

He had b(>en a ]ironiinent and influential citi- ber and coal. He has conduct<»d this enterprise 

zen res])ected for Ins genuine worth as well for fourteen years and has woti the success 




RICHAED H. LIBBY. 




Ml«. SUSAN I,'. IJBBY. 



J 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



497 



which comes through persistent effort guided 
by sound judgment and prompted by laudable 
ambition. He is numbered among the pioneer 
residents of Iowa, having settled in Winthrop, 
Buchanan county, about 1866. 

Mr. Seidel is a native of Germany, his birth 
having occurred in Saxony in 1S39. lie came 
to America in his childhood days and spent his 
youth in Rochester, Monroe county, New York. 
His educational privileges were limited, but, 
desirous for mental advancement, he has made 
good use of his opportunity and through expe- 
rience and observation as well as by reading in 
later life he has added largely to the sum total 
of his knowledge. When a young man he went 
to Ohio, where he woi'ked in a printing oiRce 
tip to the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. 
In 1861, prompted by a spirit of patriotism, he 
joined the boys in blue, becoming a member of 
Battery B, of the First Ohio Light Artillery. 
He went south, served in the Army of the Cum- 
berland, veteranized and continued as a de- 
fender of the Union for four years or until 
after the close of hostilities, when he received 
an honorable discharge at Cleveland, Ohio, in 
July, 1865. 

The following year Mr. Seidel came to Iowa, 
locating first in Buchanan county, where he 
worked in a lumber year. He there remained 
until 1890, when he came to Anthon and pur- 
chased and established a lumber and coal busi- 
ness. He has a well equipj^ed lumber yard, has 
erected a large lumber house and has developed 
a business which has reached extensive and 
profitable proportions. He also deals in coal 
and his patronage in that community has be- 
come quite extensive. Mr. Seidel likewise built 
a business house in Anthon and has cnntril)uted 
to the general improvement of the place 
through the erection of two residences which he 
yet owns. 

In Winthrop, Iowa, Mr. Seidel was united 
in marriage to Miss Mary E. Dean, a native of 
iN^ew York, who was there reared and educated. 
They have a pleasant home in Anthon which is 



celebrated for its gracious and charming hospi- 
tality. Mr. Seidel is an unfaltering advocate 
of Republican principles, has served on the 
town board of Anthon as a member of the coun- 
cil and has also been mayor of the to^vn, but 
resigned his office ere his term had expired. In 
all matters of citizenship he is as true and loyal 
as when he followed the old flag on southern 
battle-fields. In whatever relation we find him 
— in the public service, in business, in social 
life — he is always the same honored and honor- 
able gentleman whose worth merits the high 
regard which is uniformly given him. 



AXTOIA^E FLURIE. 



Antoiue Flurie, a re!?ident farmer of Union 
county. South Dakota, is well known in Sioux 
City, where he arrived on the 27th of July, 
1857. He has since witnessed its growth and 
improvement while carrying on agricultural 
pursuits not far distant. He was born at 
Macelouga in the province of Quebec, Canada. 
Soon after his father's death he came to the 
United States, being then but eighteen years 
of age. He made his way to Sioux City and 
was employed as a farm hand for three years, 
after which he entered from the government 
the claim upon which he now resides and began 
farming on his o'wn account. He was twenty- 
five years of age and when on the 11th of Octo- 
ber, 1862, he enlisted for three years' service 
in the defense of the Union, becoming a mem- 
ber of Comjiany B, First Regiment of Dakota 
Cavaliy, under command of Captain William 
Tripp of the First Battalion, commanded by 
General Sully. He was honorably discharged 
on the 15th of November, 1865, at Sioux City. 

In the meantime, as before stated, he had 
taken pre-emption rights in Big Sioux town- 
ship. Union county. South Dakota, and since 
his marriage he and his family have resided 
thereon. He now owns one hundred and eighty- 
one acres of rich land and at one time he had 



498 



PAST AM) PKESEXT OF WOODBLKY COUXTf 



forty-five acres adilitioiial, Imt xhv river washed 
this away in 1800. 

On the olst of December, ISOT. ^Ir. Flurie 
was united iu marriage to Miss ilary Ann 
Lapora, a daughter of Edmund and Mary Ann 
Lapora. Mr. and Mrs. Flurie are the parents 
of ten children: Anthony; Anna, the wife of 
Kay Blaekstone, of Riverside ; Addie ; Valerie ; 
Edward ; Lillian ; Mabel ; Cora, who died when 
six months old; Francis; and Archibald. The 
family are all members of the French Catholic 
church. 

It will be interesting in this connection to 
note something concerning the history of Mrs. 
Mary Ann Sangster, the mother of Mrs. Flurie, 
who was the first white woman to locate in 
Sioux City. She bore the maiden name of 
Annie Leonais and was born in St. Francis, in 
the province of Quebec, Canada, October :20, 
1816. Her ancestors had come from France 
at a period when that country was involved in 
war. Her mother died when she was but four- 
teen years of age and as her fatlier afterward 
married again she and her three sisters and her 
brother, Joseph, left home and depended upon 
their own resoiirces for support. Later she re- 
sided with her eldest sister, who had married 
and was living in Sorel, Canada. She sewed 
for ladies living in the village until the 10th of 
February, 1840, when she became the wife of 
Edmund Lapora, a blacksmith. They removca 
to Macelonga, where he followed his trade for 
six years and then died of constimption. Four 
children had been born unto them, but the 
eldest, Augustus, lived but three days. At the 
time of the father's death the youngest child 
was but nine months old. Six months later a 
son Edward died. IMrs. Lajiora found it dif- 
ficult to support her family by sewing, as wages 
were small in Canada, and being unable to 
purchase a sewing machine she therefore was 
obliged to do all the work by hand. She finally 
wrote to her brother, Joseph Leonais, who had 
located at Sioux City, Iowa, asking what op- 
portunities were afforded for earning a living 



iu that place. His reply was that if she would 
leave Canada and come to him he would help 
her all iu liis power to maintain her family. 
She then sold her household furniture and 
started on her journey with her two small chil- 
dren, Edmund and Annie, aged respectively 
seven and three, years. September 25, 1854, 
was the date of her departure and she jour- 
neyed from Sorel to Montreal in a boat, The 
Bea\er, proceeding thence to Kingston by 
canal boat. She crossed Lake Ontario in a 
steamer and then with her children I'ode twenty 
miles in a stage coach to Buffalo, Isew York. 
They further continued their journey by 
steamer across Lake Erie to Detroit, Michigan, 
and by rail they proceeded to Chicago, Illinois, 
where they were delayed one week waiting for 
her tnuik. Then, continiiing the journey by 
rail, Mrs. Lapora next stopped at a small vil- 
lage near Alton, Illinois, at the mouth of the 
Missi.iuri river. She crossed that river to St. 
Louis, where she spent two days with a friend 
of her brother's, Mr. Dezeela. Much refreshed 
by the rest, she and her children then em- 
barked on another steamer, commanded by Cap- 
tain LaBarge, and proceeded up the river to 
St. Joseph, Missouri. She remained there six 
weeks waiting for news from her brother, but 
as he was away from Sioiix City trading with 
the Indians upon river St. Peter he did not 
know of her arrival in St. Joseph. Finally 
she decided to delay no longer and by stage 
went to Council Bluff's, Iowa. By this time 
Joseph Leonais had received her letter and he 
immediately sent his brother-in-law, Eli Be- 
dard, bearing a letter of introduction, to bring 
liei- to Sioux City. Mr. Bedard expected to 
take the long drive to St. Joseph and was, 
tlierefore, much delighted when his friend Mr. 
Stetitsnuin informed him in Council Bluffs that 
lie need go no farther as Mrs. Lapora and her 
family were there at the stage hotel. It took 
three days to drive from Council Bhiffs to 
Sioux City and on the last night of the journey 
thev staved with Augiistus Traversee, a cousin 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



499 



of Mrs. Laporn, wlm had rcinuvcHl to this coun- 
try aud married a half-hrced Indian woman. 
Great kindness was shown to the new arrivals. 
The close of the next day's journey brought 
the party to the banks of the Floyd river, 
where lived the family of ^Vmable Gallerneaux, 
and there Joseph Leonais was waiting to wel- 
come his sister aud her children, whom he was 
greatly delighted to see. Mr. Gallerneaux was 
a Frenchman, but his wife was an Indian 
woman and their children wore odd looking 
caps made of blankets, with horns fashioned 
from the ckith aud sewed ujion it. It was a 
strange sight for a white woman just arrived 
from Canada. As there was no bridge across 
the Floyd river the horses were unhitched from 
the wagon and made to swim across with their 
harness upon them. A long rope was theu at- 
tached to the wagon and it was drawn across 
the stream, while Mrs. Lapora, her brother aud 
the children crossed in a small boat, arriving 
at Sioux City December 3, 1854. Her sur- 
prise was great at seeing nothing but Indian 
wigwams. Game and fish could be had in 
abundance and her brother's cornfield covered 
the present site of Pearl street. Mrs. Lapora 
was at once taken to her brother's home. He 
had also married a half-breed woman. On 
learning that a white woman and white chil- 
dren had come the Indians crowded about to 
see them, for they had never seen a white wo- 
man before. The Lapora children were much 
frightened by the dusky Siouxs, but as time 
passed they became more intimate with their 
Indian neighbors, played with them and soon 
learned to speak the language fiuently. At one 
time during the early days Mrs. Lapora wit- 
nessed a scalp dance, a Sioux squaw, called 
]\Iother Blue Nose, holding the scalp of a fair- 
haired man upon a long pole, while the Indians 
danced about with glee. The white men were 
very indignant at this scene and Joseph 
Leonais ordered the Indians away, for they 
were dancing in front of his house. ]Mrs. La- 
pora told her brother that it would be almost 



impossible for her to raise her children in this 
wild western place among the savages. Mr. 
Leonais had been greatly pleased to have her 
with him, but knowing of her dissatisfaction 
he offered to send her and her children back to 
Canada at his own expense. In the spring fol- 
lowing her arrival, however, he sold his claim 
as a site for Sioux City and she was more con- 
tented to remain, because other white women — • 
Mrs. Gondreau, Mrs. Cassada and Mrs. Lyons 
— had come. Her brother's home was the only 
boarding hoitse for the white people and all 
newcomers made it their stopping place. Aus- 
tin Cole, Steve Gardner and Charles C. Sang- 
ster early visited Sioux City and after remain- 
ing for a month ]\Ir. Cole returned to Iowa 
City for his wife. 

Charles C. Saugster opened the first store 
in Sioux City containing a stock of groceries, 
hardware, dry goods and liquors. After an ac- 
quaintance of about eighteen months Mrs. La- 
pora and Charles C. Sangster were married on 
the 12th of ilarch, 1856, and he proved to her 
a kind husband. Eleven months later, on the 
l(3th of February, 1857, a son was born to 
them, the first white child born in Sioux City, 
lie was named Charles Archibald. Two 
months later, on the 15th of April, 1857, 
Charles C. Sangster died of heart disease. Mrs. 
Sangster was thus again a widow and now with 
three children to support. At the time of his 
death Mr. Sangster had been building a house 
near the mouth of Floyd river upon a lot owned 
by Joseph Leonais. This house was afterward 
completed and Mr. Leonais gave the deed of 
the land on which it stood to his widowed sis- 
ter, and she made that place her home until 
both house and lot were swept away by the 
river. 

Four years after her husband's death Mrs. 
Sangster went to her father-in-law's home in 
Ionia, Michigan, for the purpose of caring for 
his sick wife, but she died before Mrs. Sang- 
ster's arrival. She remained there, however, 
for two years and then went to Iowa City, 



500 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



Iowa, to arrange and settle np her husband's 
estate, ^yiter three years sjoent there Mrs. 
Sangster returned to Sioux City. Her eldest 
son, Edmund, was then eighteen years of age 
and was thus able to assist his mother. Tlie 
daughter, Annie, was fifteen and Charles was 
nine years. The following year on the 3d of 
December, 1867, the daiighter married Antoine 
Flurie. On the 19th of February, 1888, her 
son, Edmund Lapora, died at his home upon 
the Floyd river, leaving a wife and five chil- 
dren. His widow has since married again. 
Charles Sangster, her youngest son, resides be- 
tween McCook lake and the Missouri river, 
engaged in his favorite pursuit of hunting. 

During the early days Mrs. Sangster made 
many pairs of mittens and gloves of fur and 
also caps of the same material for wealthy 
families of Sioux City and in this way during 
one winter she earned more than one hundred 
dollars. She invested one himdred dollars in 
a three-quarter block upon the Floyd river and 
her eldest son Edmund paid for the buildings 
erected thereon. There she lived with her two 
sons for many years, but finally her elder son 
married Agnes Heurth and went to a home of 
his own. In the fall of 1887 Mrs. Sangster 
and her brother, Joseph Leonais, visited her 
birthplace in Canada. Thirty-three years had 
elapsed since she lived there and she found 
many changes upon her return. Two of her 
sisters had died, but one sister, j\[rs. Mai-garet 
Laforce, was still living at Sherbrooke, Canada. 
After four months spent there Mrs. Sangster 
and her brother returned to Sioux City. In 
March, 1899, she was taken ill with dropsy 
and heart trouble and for two years was quite 
sick. Her brother, Joseph Leonais, died May 
25, 1901, at his home on South Court street in 
Sioux City when about eighty-three years of 
age. Previous to his death he had bought a 
place in Moimt Calvary cemetery for two 
burials, one for his sister and one for himself. 
Since his death a monument has been erected 
to his memory and his name inscribed thereon. 



while below is a blank sj^ace left for his sister's 
name, as it was his desire that they should sleep 
their last sleep together, as his third wife, his 
widow, contemplated spending her remaining 
life in ( 'anada and wished to be buried there, 
ilrs. iMary Ann Sangster, however, is now en- 
joying excellent health, has full possession of 
all her mental faculties and is yet remarkably 
active for one of her years, for she has now 
reached the age of eighty-seven. During the 
summer months she frequently visits Sioux 
City. She did not learn to speak English 
until after her arrival here when she was near- 
ly forty years of age, her earlier life having 
been spent among the French people of Can- 
ada. She is now living a peaceful and happy 
life with !Mr. and ^Irs. Flurie and their fine 
family of sons and daughters in tlie home farm 
in T'nion countv. South Dakota. 



MES. MARY A. CHASE. 

Mrs. Mary A. Chase, living on section 11, 
Wolf Creek township, is numbered among the 
early settlers in that part of the coiinty and 
now with the assistance of her two sons is car- 
rying on the old homestead farm, giving her at- 
tention to its supervision since the death of 
her husband, L. J. Chase, who passed away on 
the 28th of ISTovember, 1901. Mr. Chase was a 
native of Illinois, born near Princeton in 
Bureau county on the 14th of April, 1837. His 
boyhood days were there passed and he acquired 
a fair education. In March, 1861, he was 
united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Shurts, 
who was born in Columbiana coimty, Ohio, a 
daughter of John Shurts, who was also a native 
of that state and was of German ancestry. Her 
mother bore the maiden name of it^ancy Burns 
and was a native of Pennsylvania and of Scotch 
lineage. Mr. Shurts was a farmer by occupa- 
tion, following that pursuit in Ohio vmtil his re- 
moval to Bureau countv, Illinois, where he 




L. J. CHASE AND FAMILY. 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



503 



owned aud operated two diti'erent tracts of laud 
and thereon reared his family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Chase began their domestic life 
upon a rented farm in Bureau county and there 
lived for a number of years, after which they 
came to Iowa in 1869, settling in Benton 
county. Mr. Chase turned his attention to the 
development of a farm there and continued its 
improvement for twelve years. On the expira- 
tion of that i^eriod he sold out and removed to 
Woodbury county, arriving here in 1881. He 
jjurchascd the tract of land upon which the 
family now resides — a farm of two hundred 
and forty acres of land which is now rich and 
productive, but was then raw and unimproved. 
He broke the fields, turning the first furrows 
upon many an acre, and later he i^lanted the 
seed and in due course of time harvested good 
crops. He erected good buildings iipon the 
place, hauling the lumber from Sioux City. He 
first built a barn, in which the family lived for 
two years, at the end of which time a new resi- 
dence was erected. Mr. Chase also planted 
many fruit trees and thiis developed an excel- 
lent orchard. He also set out considerable 
small fruit and now the family annually enjoys 
the products of his labor in the berries and ap- 
ples and other fruits which are produced here. 
He likewise planted a maple grove and contin- 
ued the work of progress upon the home place 
until the farm equals many of the best prop- 
erties of this jDortion of the county. lie was 
also a successful stock-raiser and had upon his 
place good grades of cattle, hogs and horses. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Chase were born eight 
children : Etta, who is the wife of A. Tiffany, 
a resident farmer of Kedron township ; Charles, 
a farmer who is married and resides in South 
Dakota, and has two children, Mary and 
George ; Ida, the wife of Walter Heath, of this 
county, by whom she has two sons, Harry and 
Elmer ; Jennie, the wife of Charles Heath, of 
Wolf Creek township, by whom she has one 
daughter, Edna ; Frank, who is assisting in the 
operation of the home farm; Roy, at home; 



Minnie, the wife of John A. Grapes, of Kock 
township; and Eva, the wife of Bruce Carring- 
ton, of Wolf Creek townshij), by whom she has 
two children, Harold and Russell. 

Politically Mr. Chase \\'as a Republican, but 
never sought or desired office, preferring to give 
his time to his business affairs, in which lie met 
with very good success, being thus enabled to 
leave his family in comfortable financial cir- 
cumstances. He was always very honorable in 
his trade relations and true to the duties of 
citizenship and in his family he was a devoted 
husband and father. After the death of her 
husband Mrs. Chase removed to Correction- 
ville, where she resided for two years, but in the 
spring of 1904 she returned to the farm Avhere 
she is keeping house for her sons. Her son 
Frank has made three trips to California and 
Roy has made one trip. The sons are capable 
young business men, both well ediicated and 
they are well known and popular in Wolf Creek 
township and Woodbury county. Mrs. Chase 
possesses excellent business ability and is well 
known in Correctionville and Wolf Creek town- 
ship. She has done her full duty by her chil- 
dren and has their warmest affection, while by 
manv friends she is held in the highest esteem. 



JOSEPH HOELKER. 

Joseph Hoelker, who is engaged in general 
farming on section 3, Miller township, has a 
good property of three hundred and twenty 
acres, constituting a well improved farm within 
two and a fourth miles of Anthon. He is a 
native of Germany, his birth having occurred 
in Westphalia, Prussia, on the 10th of N'ovem- 
l)er, 1840. There the days of his boyhood and 
youth were passed and he was educated in the 
German and Latin tongues. He served in the 
Prussian army for three years, taking part in 
the Prussian and Danish war, in which he 
participated in forty-two different engage- 
ments. He was afterward in what was known 



504 



TAST AND PEESENT OF WoODBl'KY COUNTY 



as the Prussian war and UM.ik i)art in sixty-six 
eugagemeuts, suuic oi wliicli were very import- 
ant battles. He sustained four gunshot wounds 
and was also wounded by a bursting shell, on 
which occasion eighty-four men of his company 
were killed and a number were injured. 

In early life !Mr. Hoelker learned the stone 
mason's trade, which he followed for three years 
in his native laud. In 1867 he emigrated to 
the new world, for he had heard favorable re- 
ports concerning America and its business op- 
portunities. Wishing to profit by the advan- 
tages here afforded he crossed the Atlantic and 
made his way to Dubuqtte Iowa, where he ar- 
rived ou the 3d of May, 1867. There he was 
engaged in railroad construction in connection 
with the stone work department for seven years, 
spending that entire time in Dubuque county. 
He subsequently carried on farming there for 
four years and after his marriage he removed 
to Carroll county, where he devoted his energies 
to agricttltural iitirstiits for seven years. In 
188.) he came to Woodbury county, rented a 
farm in ^lillor township and for nine years 
lived upon that place, during which time he 
made many improvements. He then purchased 
the farm on which he now resides on section 
3, Miller township. Upon it was a house in 
very poor repair and forty acres of land was 
tillable. He began here with one hundred and 
sixty acres and has improved his projierty until 
1k' now has an excellent farm, compi'ising three 
hundred and twenty acres. He built a new 
residence and substantial barn, also buildings 
for the shelter of grain and stock, and has trans- 
formed his farm into a very valuable property, 
on which he raises good graded stock. 

While living in Dubuque county, on the 26th 
of May, 1S6S. Mr. Hoelker was united in nuir- 
riage to Miss ^lary Fent, who was born in Ger- 
many. They became the parents of eighteen 
children, eleven of whom are now living. Six 
are married and there are twenty-foiir grand- 
children. Politically ilr. Hoelker is a Dem- 
ocrat, having supported the party since he east 



lii? first presidential ballot for Samuel J. Til- 
den, in 1870. The honors and emoluments of 
office have had little attraction for him and he 
has lield no public office, save that for several 
year? he was a member of the school board, 
lldih he and his wife were reared in the Cath- 
olic faith and are members of the church at 
Anthou. Mr. Hoelker is a public-spirited citi- 
zen, much interested in all that pertains to the 
county's welfare and ujilmilding. Leaving his 
initive land in early manhood to try his for- 
tune in the new Avurld. he has never regretted 
the step thus taken, for here he has found good 
business opportunities, and steadily pursuing 
his way, undeterred by the obstacles and diffi- 
culties in his path, he has achieved a prosperity 
of which he perhaps did not dream a few dec- 
ades aeo. 



ALBERT L. LOWE. 



Albert L. Lowe, although a resident of Sioux 
City for only a few years, became an active 
factor in business circles during that period and 
had a strong personality that left its impress 
ti])on the minds of his friends, who grew in 
uTimber as the circle of his acquaintances ex- 
tended and who accorded him a desirable po- 
sition in their regard and confidence. He was 
born in East Mercer, Maine, in April, 1861. 
His father, William Lowe, also a native of that 
state, spent his entire life there and for many 
years followed the occupation of farming. His 
widow, also a native of Maine, is still residing 
in I lie Pine Tree state, at the age of eighty 
three years. 

.Having acquired his education in the public 
schools of Maine Albert L. Lowe afterward 
worked uj^on his father's farm for a few years 
and then went to Boston, Massachusetts, where 
he entered the employ of a railroad company, 
being connected with the freight department for 
a few years. Removing to the west he settled 
at Omaha, Tfebraska, where he filled the respon- 



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MRS. CLABA T. LOWE. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



507 



sible position of foreman for the Cudaliy Pack- 
ing Company for six years. Coming then to 
Sionx City, he was foreman for two years of 
the ham department in the Cndahy phaut of 
this place, and on the expiration of that period 
he began business for himself, establishing a 
commission house at the corner of Fifth and 
Douglas streets. He continued in that enter- 
prise until his death and developed a good busi- 
ness. His course in the business world from 
early manhood ^vas marked by steady progres- 
sion. He Avas dilligent and determined, per- 
severing and prudent, and his efforts were so 
directed as to produce good results. 

Mr. Lowe was married in Sioux City to Mrs. 
Clara (Townsend) Eockwood, a native of N^ew 
Hampshire and a daughter of Samuel F. and 
Betsy G. Townsend, both of whom were natives 
of l^ew Hampshire. The father was a 
farmer by occupation. He died at the age of 
sixty-five years and Mrs. Townsend now re- 
sides in Sioux City, at the home of her daugh- 
ter, Mrs. William M. Stevens, at No. 1011 
Pierce street. !Mrs. Lowe has been married 
three times, first becoming the wife of Allen 
Hoskins, a member of one of the old and prom- 
inent families of Sioux City. Her first hus- 
band was engaged in the book and stationery 
business in Sioux City, and they had one child, 
Harry, who died at the age of six months. Her 
second husband was Frank P. Eockwood, of 
Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where he resided the 
greater part of his life. He was a wood en- 
graver, and died in Fitchburg, June 1, 1891. 
There was one son by this marriage, Harold, 
who was born August 21, 1891, and resides with 
his mother. After the death of her second hus- 
band she returned to Sioux City and was here 
married to Mr. Lowe. 

Mr. Lowe never held or desired political of- 
fice, but was a stanch Democrat in his political 
views and took much interest in the growth nnc' 
success of his party. He was a Eoyal Ardi 
Mason and belonged to several insurance orders. 
His death, which occurred September 15, 1900, 



was very sudden, owing to heart failure. He 
had formed a wide acquaintance in business 
circles, and his strong qualites were those which 
commanded the trust and good will of his busi- 
ness associates. Of strong and purposeful na- 
ture, he accomplished what he undertook, and 
reached his end by straightforward methods. 
In social circles, too, he displayed many ster- 
ling traits that cause him to be remembered, not 
only iu his own home, but by friends and neigh- 
bors. Mrs. Lowe formerly resided on Jennings 
street in Sioux City, but in 1901 she came to 
the beautiful suburb of Morningside and pui- 
chased a nice home at No. 1810 Pomegranate 
street, where she and her only child reside. 
She also owns six houses and lots in Sioux City 
which she rents. She is prominent in sociai 
circles and in her own home dispenses a charm- 
ing hospitality. 



WILLIAM CHAFFEE. 

William ChaflVe is a typical 3'oung business 
man of the west, alert, enterprising and am- 
bitious. It is upon such a foundation that 
fortunes have been made in the Mississippi 
valley and already Mr. Chaffee has won success 
that many an older man might well envy. He 
is now manager of several of the best office 
l)niklings of the city and in controlling these 
has made them profitable investments. 

Mr. Chaffee was born in Lee, Massachusetts, 
in IS TO. His father, George L. Chaffee, is a 
native of Becket, Massachiisetts, and is now 
living in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was 
for long periods actively engaged in the manu- 
facture of i>aj)er, but is now living retired. In 
community affairs he has been active and in- 
fluential, holding a number of town offices, to 
which positions he has been elected on the Ee- 
]iublican ticket. He belongs to the Congrega- 
tional church, as does his wife. She bore the 
maiden name of Constance Henderson and was 
born in Xashville, Tennessee. They became 



508 



FAST AM) I'EESEXT OF WOODBIHY COUNTY 



the parents of seven eliildreii, of wluuu six are 
yet living. 

William C'hattee aequireil his early educa- 
tion in Stoekbriilne, Massachusetts, attending 
the iniblic schools, lie afterward became a 
student in the ^lassachnsetts Institute of Tech- 
nology in IJoston and entered upon his btisiness 
career as an cm])]iiyc in tlie dttice of The Boston 
Investment Company, of IJoston, wliere he re- 
mained for four years. The opixirtiuiitii's of 
the west, however, attracted him and in IS'Jo 
he came to Sioux City, Iowa, to take charge of 
the western office of the Xorthern Investment 
Company. Mr. (^haffee was its representative in 
Sioux City until 1890. In January of that 
year he took charge of the Security Bank l)uild- 
ing, as secretary and manager of the company, 
which positions he is n<i\v tilling, lie is also 
manager of the Brown block and the Metropoli- 
tan block and is secretary of the Midland Tr\ist 
Company. The buildings, of which lie has 
charge as manager, are all of modern \y\n- of 
office structttres ami thus he holds a responsible 
position, as their control di,-;ol\-cs upon him. 

In 1896 Mr. Chaffee was united in marriage 
to Miss Alberta A. Beggs, a daughter of Dr. 
George W. and Lillie Aurelia (Simms) Beggs, 
and a native of Sioux City, born in 1874. They 
now have one child. Uoroiliy, who was born in 
1899. Both :Mr. and Mrs. ChafFee hold mem- 
bership in the Congregational church and he 
belongs to the Young Men's C^hristian Associa- 
tion, of which he is now treasur(>r. Politically 
he is a I\e]nililican :iiid he takes a deep and 
personal interest in politics. 



ABTIIFR II. TKXXIS. 

Arthur II. Ti'nnis, who is engageil in the coal 
business in Sioux City and also has extensive 
farming and stock-raising interests, was born 
September 8. 184(1, near Kichniond. York 
county, Yirglnia. Tlis grandfather was a na- 
tive of Eneland and tlu^ fo\inder of the faniilv 



in America. His father, John Tennis, removod. 
from Yirginia to Marion county, Iowa, in 1851, 
and there purchased a farm upon which he re- 
sided until his death, which occurred in 1871. 
His wife, who in her nuiidenhood was Isabella 
Dawson, died in 1880. 

Arthur II. Tennis pursued his early edtication 
In the district schools of Marion county, Iowa, 
and later spent one year in Bella College, at 
Pelhi, this state. He was but eighteen years of 
age, when in ilay, 1863, he responded to the call 
of his country for aid and joined the United 
States Army, his company being a member of 
the Forty-seventh Iowa Infantry. During the 
greater part of his term of enlistment his com- 
pany was stationed at Helena, Arkansas, where 
he was in numerotis skirmishes with the rebels. 
He was honorably discharged at Camp ilcClel- 
lan, at i)aven))ort, Iowa, on Xovember 8, 1864. 
1804. 

Returning to his fathers farm in Marion 
county, Iowa, Mr. Tennis then assisted in its 
cn]ti\ation until he attained his majority with 
the exce]ition of the period spent in Bella Col- 
Icii'e. In 18('>7, at the age of t\venty-oiu>, he went 
to scnuhern Kansas, and secured a squatter's 
claim of one hinidred and sixty acres in Chero- 
kee county. A year later he traded this claim 
for one hnndred and twenty-five acres 
south of W(>bster City, Iowa, and one 
luinilred dollars in cash. He then re- 
tnrn<>d to Clarion county, where he rented a 
tract of lan<l and began dealing in cattle, buying 
feeilingand shi])iung. IlewasthusengagcMl until 
1S71, AvluMi he came to Woodbtiry county, still 
in the pioneer epoch of its development. He 
took up a homestead in Westport township and 
after living upon it for four years secured his 
title. In 1875 he again went to Kansas and 
there dealt in cattle, buying and selling until the 
fall of 1876, when he returned to Woodbury 
county, and purchased eighty acres of land, to 
which he added from time to time until he was 
the owner of one thousand acres. He still con- 
tinued to deal in cattle and sheep, kee]ung and 




MR. AND MKS. A. H. TEX N IS. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



511 



feeding on an average of about two hundred 
head of cattle and from eight hundred to a thou- 
sand sheep. In 1900 he sold four hundred 
acres of his land but still retains possession of 
six hundred acres, on which he feeds cattle and 
sheep, and is one of the leading representatives 
of stock-raising interests in the county. He is 
an excellent judge of stock and has therefore 
been enabled to conduct his purchases and sales 
so as to derive a good profit. In 1896, however, 
he left the farm and took up his abode in Sioux 
City, where in 1902 he entered- into partner- 
ship with Joseph Turechek in the coal business, 
and the firm of Tennis & Turechek under the 
name of the Morningside Fuel Company is 
doing a profitable business in coal. 

On the 13th of February, 1868, Mr. Tennis 
was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Harrison, 
a native of Indiana and a daughter of Silas 
Harrison, of Marion county, Iowa, who was a 
farmer and stock dealer and died in Februaiy, 
1893. Her mother is still living in Marion 
county. They came to this state from Indiana 
at an early day and first settled in Keokuk 
county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Tennis were born 
seven children : John Franklin, born October 
25, 1870, died in February, 1877. Bessie Maud, 
born August 7, 1874, died September 23, 1875. 
Carl, born October 14, 1876, was married Au- 
gust 22, 1900, to Ida Maud Folsome, of Smith- 
land, and is traveling for the firm of McLaugh- 
lin & Company. Lulu, born September 30, 
1879, is the wife of Raymond Seman in the 
employ of Clay, Eobinson & Company, of Chi- 
cago, Illinois. Eflie Belle, born September 6, 
1881, is a student in Morningside College. 
Clyde, born August 30, 1883, is superintending 
the home farm. Arthur W., born July 10, 
1885, is also a student at Morningside College. 

Mr. Tennis is a member of General Hancock 
Post, No. 22, G. A. R., of Sioux City, and he 
belongs to the Methodist church. In politics he 
is independent. While residing upon his farm 
he was elected in 1872 to the position of town- 
ship clerk for five years, but resigned on his re- 



moval to Kansas. Ui^on his return, however, 
he was re-elected to the same position and he has 
also been township trustee, school director and 
school treasurer for many years. Interested in 
the welfare and upbuilding of his community, 
he has performed in capable manner the public 
duties entrusted to him and as a private citizen 
has co-operated in many measures for the gen- 
eral good. His business career has been marked 
by steady advance from a humhle financial 
position to one of affluence. He has made the 
most of his opportunities and has always real- 
ized that labor is the true source of all wealth, 
and thus by indefatigable industry, guided by 
sound business judgment gained through experi- 
ence, he has gradually worked his way upward 
until he now ranks with the substantial men of 
Woodbury county. 



W^LHELM HERBOLD. 

Wilhelm Herbold, who is engaged in general 
farming and stock-raising on section 21, Rut- 
land township, has extensive and valuable 
landed interests. His home farm comprises a 
quarter section and is a well improved property. 
In addition to this he has one hundred and 
sixty acres on section 28 of the same township, 
eighty acres on section 17 and eighty acres on 
section 16, and one hundred and thirty-two 
acres on section 1 and these places are all well 
improved and yield him a good income. The 
1st of May, 1882, witnessed his arrival in Iowa 
and in the following year he came to Woodbury 
county, where he has since made his home, so 
that in the years that have since passed his fel- 
low townsmen have had ample opportunity to 
judge of his worth, and that they give to him 
their respect and confidence is indicative of 
the fact that his has been an honorable and 
straightforward career. 

Germany has furnished many worthy citi- 
zens to Woodbury county and among this num- 
ber Mr. Herbold is classed. He was born in 



512 



PAST AND 1'HKS1-:NT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



llcrlisfii, F. Wiildeck, (.leniiaiiv, .lime 4, l.s.'iT. 
He had two brothers ami one sister. ()\w of 
the brodiers, Liidwig llerbold, eanie to Aiueriea 
tlie year prior to tlie arri\-al <it' Wilhelin lli'r- 
bold, wlio was aeeoiii]iaiiied by his brother Carl 
and his sister Louise, who is now the wife of 
Christ Rock, an extensive and jjrosperoiis 
farmer of Rutland township. 

Williehn Herbold was edueated in aeeord- 
auce with the laws of his native land and aftt-r- 
ward served for about two years in the Ciernian 
army. His knowlediic of the English language, 
however, has been aeipiired since he came to 
the United States. He had heard favorable 
reports concerning America and its possibilities 
and hoping that he might benefit his finaneial 
condition he crossed the Atlantic and came to 
Iowa, where he purchased land in the fall of 
1882. The following year he took up his abode 
in Woodbury county and since that time be 
has been ai'tivcly associated with the agricul- 
tural development (if this ])art of the state. lie 
has bought and partially impro\-ed a number 
of farms and in 1SS7 he took u]i his abode at 
his jiri'senf jilace of residence on section -Jl, 
lintland township. llcvv be began fanning 
and has continmiusly carried f(.irward the work 
of ini])rovement with the result that his is a 
model farm property. He built a good house 
and barn and the grov(^ and the orcdiard are of 
his own planting. I'lverytliing aronnd him is 
indiealive of bis enierprising ;in<l progressive 
spirit. The fields yield to him good harvests 
and in the ])astnres are seen high gi'ades of 
stock. As his financial resources ha\'e in- 
creased he has made judicious investment in 
other property an<l is now the owner of the four 
additional farms before mentioned. 

In 1883 was celebrated the marriage of ^Ir. 
Herbold and Miss !Nrinnic Xeumeier, a native 
of Gernumy, where she spent her gii'lliood days 
and in early womanhood came to .Vnu^riea. She 
lias two sisters hero: Christina, the wife of 
Fred K. Rock; and Fredericka, flic wife of 
Henre Hinkhouse. Unto Mr. ami ^Frs. Her- 



bolil have Ijcen b<irn six children: Fred, Willie, 
JMuma, Walter, Herbert and Ewald. 

^Mr. Herbold does not consider himself bound 
by party tics when voting at local elections, but 
snpports the candidates whom he thiidvS best 
qualified for office. At state and national elec- 
tions, however, he gives his allegiance to the 
1 )enKicracy. He has served as road supervisor 
and has been a member of the school board. He 
is also a member of the ilutual Fire Insurance 
('omjiany of this county and was its vice-presi- 
dent and treasurer. IJolh he and his wife were 
reari'd in the Lutlu'ran faith and are now mem- 
bers of that church. In I'.lOl they nmde a trip 
to Ciermany, visiting Mr. Herbold's father and 
alsi) the jiarents of his wife. They spent three 
months on the trip, going to Berlin and other 
eontint'utal cities, and on returning visited the 
Pan-American exposition at Buffalo . and 
Niagara Falls. The journey was a most en- 
joyable one and left to them many pleasant 
memories of the fatherlaml aiul of attractive 
scenes in bis adi>iite(l country. 



FKRDTXAXl) HUMMEL. 

Ferdinand Hummel, residing on section 12, 
Rock townshiji, is one of the worthy citizens 
that Gernumy has fnrnished to Iowa. He jios- 
sesses many of the strong and sterling charac- 
teristics (if the people of the fatherland — qual- 
ities which lia\'e made the sons of Germany 
vuIuimI residents of the United States. He was 
born in Saxony Cobnrg, October 20, 1867, and 
is a son of -Idbn and Margaret P. (Stuepfert) 
Hummel, both of wli(im were natives of Ger- 
numy, in which country they were reared and 
mari-icd. There they spent their entire lives 
and nine children were born unto them: (Caro- 
line, the wife of Ferdinand Ekert, of Germany; 
dohn X. : Barbara, the wife of Charles Volkert, 
of Ida county, Iowa; liertie, the wif(> of John 
Dicgel, of Kansas; Anna, the wife of G(^orge 
\'olkeft ; Edward, of (icnuanv; Ferdinand, of 




FERDINAND IIUMMKL AXD FAMILY. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



515 



this review; John, of Woodbury county; and 
Amelia, the wife of Gustaf Fauber, of Ger- 
many. 

Ferdinand lluminel si)t'nt the tirst fourteen 
years of his life in his native country and re- 
ceived good school advantages there in his na- 
tive tongue, but his knowledge of English has 
been acquired entirely since he came to the 
United States. It was in 1882 when he crossed 
the briny deej) to the new world and after 
sjiending two years in Lee county, Illinois, he 
came to Iowa in 1S84, settling first in Ida 
county. There he worked by the month for 
five years, after which he returned to Germany 
and visited his parents and friends. On his 
return from Germany he was married on the 
4th of May, 1889, to Miss Sophia Gerlicker, a 
native of Germany, who had come to the United 
States that year. 

^Ir. and ^Irs. Ilnninicl began their domestic 
life Tipon a farm in Ida county, Iowa, which 
he rented for several years. He worked liard 
and persistently during that period and with 
the money that he thus earned he purchased 
eighty acres of land which he improved. Later 
he sold tliat property and again rented land for 
two years, after which he liought three hundi'ed 
and twenty acres, which lie continued to culti- 
vate and im]inivc until 18i'L'. In that year he 
sold c)ut and ]iurchased a farm of three Inin- 
dred and twenty acres in Woodbury and Ida 
counties, the land lying on sections 12 and 13, 
Eock township. During his residence here he 
has built a substantial and commodious barn, 
also erected a good residence, has fenced the 
place and has put upon it all modern improve- 
ments so that he has a property which is now 
in keeping with ideas of a model farm of the 
twentieth century. He is yet a voting man lint 
has already attained succi'ss wliich many an 
older man might well envy. 

The home of Mr. and ^Irs. Hummel has been 
blessed with five children: Alma, John, Will- 
iam, Ferdinand and Alviii. The parents were 
reared in tlu' Lutheran faith, and are members 



of the church at Cushing. Politically Mr. 
Hummel is an earnest Eepublican, believing 
tirmly in the principles of the party, yet has 
never desired or sought office, preferring to 
give his time and attention to his business af- 
fairs. He is a successful farmer and stock- 
raiser and one whose life is an indication of 
the advantages afforded in America to young 
men of determination, reliability and ambition. 
He came to this country without capital, but 
has steadily worked his way uj)ward and his 
industry and energy are the salient elementb 
in his career, wliich have resulted very success- 
fnllv. 



LOKENZO BUTLER. 



Lorenzo Butler, wlm became a resident of 
Sioux City in March, 181)2, died February 9, 
1899. In the seven years of his residence here, 
however, he became widely known and won 
favorable regard from all with whom business 
and social relations brought him in contact. He 
was born in Madison county, Xew York, Octo- 
ber :ll. 1837, his parents lieing Lorenzo and 
Lucinda (Brigham) Butler, both of whom 
were natives of ]\Iadison county, where they 
spent their entire lives. The father was a car- 
penter and always followed that pursuit. He 
was twice married, his first wife, the mother of 
our subject, dying during the early boyhood of 
her son Lorenzo. 

In the common schools oi his native county 
Lorenzo Butler pursued his early education. 
Owing to his mother's death he left Madison 
county when but a boy and went to Utica, T^ew 
York, where he attended the I'tica College, re- 
ceiving a good education. He afterwanl began 
teaching school, following that profession in 
the east for a short time and then removing to 
Jetferson coiinty, Wisconsin, where he contin- 
ued his educational labors for several years. 
His next place of residence was in ^Fissouri, 



51G 



PAST AND I'RESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



wliiTc 111' imrcliasiMl ;i large tract of laud, upon 
wliirh ho rcsi(l(Ml until the outbreak of the Civil 
war, when he n-lnrneil \n Jett'ersiiu eotinty, 
Wisconsin. 

Soon afterwaril ^Ir. J hitler was married to 
Miss Ardelia M. Ahvorth, who was born in 
Madison county. New York, a daughter of Dan- 
iel and Abigal (Butler) Alworth, who were 
natives of Oneida and Madison counties re- 
siJectively. They reino\-ed to the west in 1845, 
settling in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where 
the father engaged in farming, cultivating a 
large tract of land there. He was also a black- 
smith and wagoiunaker by trade and followed 
those pursuits to s<mie extent in addition to 
his agrictiltural interests. lie died in Wiscon- 
sin in September, 1871, and his widow, now 
eighty-tlu-ee years of age, resides with a daugh- 
ter in !Milwatikce, Wisconsin. Three children 
were born unto ilr. and !Mrs. IJutler: Elmer 
A., residing with his mother in Sioux City, 
where he is a juirtnei' in the tirm id' Day & Com- 
pany, dealers in cnal: Xcllic Iv, a bookkeeper 
residing with her mot her; and ^lamic A., the 
wife of C. P. Havi-^. wlio is emjdoyed in the 
office of his father, .M. (' Itavis, conducting a 
real estate and milling business. 

After his uKirriage Mr. 1 hitler continued to 
engage in fanning in Jetlcrson county, Wis- 
consin, until his removal to Iowa. He tirst set- 
tled at Seuey, Iowa, where he purchased land 
and engaged in farming. He also juirehased 
and sold grain there for seven years. He then 
removed to Leniars, Iowa, where he engaged in 
the grocery business for seven years. At the 
end of that time he removed to Sioux City, ar- 
riving here in ^lavch, 1892. At this time he 
was with the J. (^. Adams Company, buying 
grain at difFerent places on the Great Northern 
Railroad, making his home in Sioux City until 
the fall of 181)8, when ^Fr. Butler began buy- 
ing grain for tlie City .Mill of Sioux City and 
was connected with tliat business until his death. 
In business circles he became well known as a 
man of reliabilitv. deserving the confidence of 



all liy reason of his straightforward, honorable 
methods. 

In his ])olitical views ^Ir. Butler was a Ke- 
publican, never wavering in his allegiance to 
the party. He belonged to the American Le- 
gion of Honor and also to the Congregational 
church, of which his widow and children are 
members. His life was an exponent of his 
faith, and his actions always exceeded his pro- 
fessions. He was a very industrious man, stic- 
cessful in his business, and with no special ad- 
vantages to aid him in early manhood he won 
a comfortable competence. To those who won 
his regard — and true worth could always win 
it — he gave strong friendship, and in his home 
the best elements and most kindly purposes of 
his nattire were manifest. About a year after 
^fr. Butler's death the family built the resi- 
dence at Xo. ITilT Jones street, where they 
now reside. 



XELS E. HAXSOX. 



There has been no element (jf more imjiort- 
ance in the development of the northwest than 
that furnished by Scandinavia and of this class 
Xels E. Hanson is a representative. He was 
born in Houston county, Minnesota, in 18");!, 
a son (d' .\ndrew and ^lartba ( Xelson ) Han- 
son, both (d' whom were natives of Xorway. 
The father was an only child and represented 
a family of agriculturists. He, too, became a 
farmer and in addition to that pursuit followed 
the carpenter's trade. He lived to the age of 
sixty-seven years and his wife still makes her 
home on the old farm in ^Minnesota. In their 
family were twelve children, nine of whom 
reached adult age. The family record is as 
follows: Hans, now deceased; Xels E. : Em- 
ma, the wife of Closes IM. Monson, of Eari- 
banlt county, Minnesota ; Henry, of the same 
county; Sarah, who is li\-iiig in the state of 
Washington; Johanna and Oscar, both de- 
ceased; Otto, who is a graduate of the Iowa 




XELS E. HAXSOX. 



PAST AND THRSEXT OP WOODBUKY COUNTY 



519 



Medical College and now practicing jihysieian 
of Forest City, Iowa ; John, who now owns and 
operates a part of the old homestead farm in 
Faribault county, Minnesota; Carl, who is also 
living on a part of the old homestead ; Julil, 
who died in Sioux City, October 30, IS'Ji, at 
the age of twenty-two years; and Adoljdi, who 
is living near the old home. 

Nels E. Hanson spent the first eight years of 
his life in the county of his nativity and then 
accompanied his parents on their removal to 
Faribault county, where his father secured a 
homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres, 
on which he carried on general agrictiltural 
pursuits and reared his family. The son at- 
tended the public schools diiring the three 
months of winter and throughout the remainder 
of the year assisted in the cultivation of field 
and meadow and the other work of the farm 
until twenty years of age. He then went to 
Easton, Minnesota, where he was employed as 
a clerk in a store and later he made his way 
to Decorah, Iowa, where he attended Brecken- 
ridge College in 18Y7-8. He then returned to 
the store where he Avas employed for four years 
and later he entered the employ of C. L. Cole- 
man in the lumber business at l)cl:iv;ni. ^fin- 
nesota, continuing his connection therewith for 
four years. On the expiration of that period 
he turned his attention to farming and also 
worked at the carpenter's trade, which he had 
learned in his youth. In 1888 he came to 
Sioux City and here first engaged in carpenter- 
ing, but afterward gave his attention to the 
grocery business until 1804. On the 19th of 
March of that year he was appointed sexton of 
the Floyd cemetery, which has been a self- 
supporting institution since that time, receiv- 
ing no aid from the city. Under his super- 
vision everything about the grounds displays 
great neatness and care and during ten years he 
has been a most capable and efficient sexton. 

On the 19th of January, 1879, Mr. Hanson 
was united in marriage to Miss Anna O. Wel- 
soii, a daughter of 01c Xelson, of Faribault 



county, Minnesota. Their children are Min- 
nie, the wife of Frederick Dahl; ^Alfred J., 
who is employed in Ruff's drug store in Siotix 
City; Oscar IST. ; Emma C, who is a teacher 
in the schools of Sioux City ; Sarah J. ; jSTellie 
A. ; Annie il. ; Ida C. ; and Esther E., Oscar, 
Edwin and Edwin G. all died in infancy. 

Mr. Hanson is a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen 
of America. He has spent his entire life in 
the northwest and has vivid recollection of the 
early struggles and hardships incident to the 
establishment of a home in Minnesota in a 
comparative wilderness. All around were wild 
and unbroken tracts of land giving little evi- 
dence of the civilizing influences of man, and 
it remained to the pioneer settlers to develop the 
district into finely cultivated farms which are 
the homes of a contented and prosperous people. 



JAMES B. WALKER. 

James B. Walker, now deceased, whose ac- 
qiuiintance in Sioux City became extensive by 
reason of his important business interests and 
his admirable and commendable traits of char- 
acter, was a native of Washington county, In- 
diana, born on the 19th of January, 1826. His 
jiarents died in Indiana during the early boy- 
hood of their son James. The father was en- 
gaged in the tobacco business and also con- 
ducted farming interests in Washington county 
until his demise. 

James B. Walker acquired only a limited 
education in the common schools of his native 
county for, losing his parents when (juite young, 
be began earning his own li\'ing by working on 
neighboring farms in his native state. In later 
years, however, experience, observation and 
reading added lai-gely to his knowledge and he 
became a well informed man. He continued 
to work as a farm hand in his native state until 
twenty-one years of age, at which time he was 



530 



I'AST AM) I'HESEXT 01-" WOODBUIJY COUNTY 



married to ^Liss .Millie Hall, wlm died in Jack- 
sou county, [iidiana. At'fcr his inarriaiiL" hv be- 
gan farniiui;' mi his nwii acecmnt and vemoviiig 
to Illinois there carried on agricndtnral pur- 
suits for a year. On the expiration of that 
period he located in Black Hawk county, Iowa, 
where he also engaged in farming for a year 
and then returned to the east, settling in Jack- 
son county, Indiana. There he resided for sev- 
eral years, cari'viiig tin ;igricultiiral jiursuits 
with a fair measure of success. Later, Imw- 
ever, he again crossed the Mississippi and took 
np his abode in I'liion ccauity. South Dakota, 
just across the river fmni Sioux ( 'ify, Iowa. 
There he engaged in farming and was also en- 
gaged in the hnnber business, Daniel Hedges, 
of Sioux City, making liim foreman of his saw- 
mill in Union county. .Vfter continuing his 
residence in South |)akola for a few years .Mr. 
Walker took up his abode in Plyuioutli county, 
Iowa, just north of Sioux ('ity, where he jiur- 
cliased a farm. He carriec] on general farming 
in Plymouth counly for two years or up to tlie 
time of his death, \\hieli occurred February .j, 
1884, and the salienl fi'atnres of his business 
career were unfaltering industry and capalile 
management. 

In Jackson county. Indiana. Mr. Walker \\as 
again married, liis sei-oud union being with 
Miss ]\rartha E. Hickson, a nati\-e of Akron, 
Ohio, liorn Se])tember T.t, 1^4.'!, her parents 
being Thomas and .\nn Kliza ( Hicks) Hick- 
son. Her motlier was descended from the 
famous Hicks family, Quakers, of Quaker 
City, Pennsylvania. Her father was a native 
of Ireland and came to .Vmei-ica at an early day, 
settling in Jackson county, Indiana, where for 
many years he occupied a government position, 
serving in that cajiacity until his death. His 
wife also died there. In the fandly of ilr. and 
Mrs. Walker were six children : James, wlio 
married Lizzie Jerome and resided in Ceilar 
Rapids, Iowa, wliere he is engaged in business 
as a stockman; ^rcClelland and Hortense, lioth 
deceased; Addie .V., a leadinn; voung ladv of 



Sioux (.'ity, who was writing a book of the old 
soldiers of this ])art of the state, but her labor 
was never tinished as slie was taken ill and died 
in Sioux City, Maj' lo, 1004, amid the deep re- 
gret (jf a \ery large circle of friends; Jefferson 
( '., who married May Allen and resides in Lin- 
coln, .Veliraska, near which ]ilace he has farm- 
ing interests: and lila May, who resides with 
her mother and is engaged in teaching in the 
pulilic schools of Sioux City, Iowa, where she 
has tauglit f(U' four years. 

Mr. Walker gave his political allegiance to 
the Democracy, l)ut never sought or desired 
otKce. He enlisted in the Sixty-seventh In- 
diami Volunteer Infantry for one hundred days' 
service in the Civil war and was honorably dis- 
charged at tlie end of that time. He attempted 
to re-enlist liut was refused on accotmt of dis- 
ability. He resided near Siotix City for abotit 
twenty-five years and was well known here, 
this being his market ])lace where he nuule his 
]inrchases ami also sold his grain. He had 
many friends in the county seat and through- 
out this |iortion of the state. In his home he was 
ilcN-otcd to the welfare of his wife and childi'cn 
and his loss was greatly felt by many who 
knew him. After her husband's death Mrs. 
Walker reside(l in Plymouth county until ISOO, 
when she sold tlie farm and removed to Siotix 
('ity. She has lived in different sections of this 
city and in IOOl' she took up her abode in Morn- 
ingside, where she purchased a nice residence 
at Xo. l.",n Oak street, where she and her 
daughter now reside. 

The family attend the First Presbyterian 
church. 



PETER C. EBERLY. 



I'eter ( '. Kberly is now living retired in 
Sioux ('ity, but for many years was closely 
identitit'd witli its agricultural and kindred in- 
dustries, including the raising of grain and 
stock and the manufacture of cheese and mo- 




ME. AXD MES. P. C. EBERLY. 




MK. AND MES. JOHN EBERLY. 



PAST AND PRES'RNT 01' WOODBURY COUNTY 



525 



Insscs. Uni'cmittii:g tlilif>,{;iice has formed the 
liasis of liis success, whiuli now enables him to 
enjoy life without further recourse to the 
active, strenuous labor which occupied his at- 
tention for many years. 

-Mr. Eberly was born in Franklin county, 
Pennsylvania, February 21, 1838, and is a son 
of John and Eliza (Leidig) Eberly. The fam- 
ily is of Germazi lineage and was founded in 
America by the great-grandfather of Peter C. 
Eberly, who settled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 
John Eberly was born in the Keystone state 
in 1812, and in early life was a farmer, fol- 
lowing that pursuit for four or five years, after 
which he worked for his brother in a sawmill 
and Iniiilicr yard until his removal to the west. 
Tn ISP.) he removed lo Salem, Henry county, 
Iowa, where he rented a farm, and later set- 
tled in Johnson county, about ten miles north- 
west I if Iowa City. He rented a tract of land 
II I II in whicli he lived until the succeeding spring 
wlicii lie |iiirchased eighty acres, which he de- 
\-el(i|ic(l ;ind cnltiviiled until ISCi.S, wlicn he re- 
inii\-((l id l,(iiii>a riiuiily, ibis slate. Several 
years were devoted to farming there and in 
the s]iring of 1873 he came to Woodbiiry coim- 
ty, Tiiwa, wliere he |inrcliased one hundred and 
tAvcnty aci'cs uf jan<l in liig Whiskey creek val- 
ley, nurlh (if tli<' ('(ii-i-i'cti(invil]e i-.iad. There 
he ile\-<.l(M] his energies to general agricultural 
]nirsnits for some time and made that farm his 
hdine until his deaLh, whicli occurred in 1890, 
while his wife, who was born in 1819, passed 
away in 190G. They wcvc married in 1837 and 
thus traveled life's jdnriiey together for about 
fifty-three years. Thev were pioneer residents 
of various sections of this state, coming to Iowa 
in the early days of its statehood and bearing a 
helpful jiai't in the sidistantial development and 
impr(i\-eincni of the Idealities in wliiclj thev re- 
sided. 

Peter (\ Kbei'ly accpiircd liis early eilueation 
in r'hambersburg, Pennsylvania, and afterward 
continued his .studies in the public schools of 
JohnsdM rduntv. In earlv life he became famil- 



iar willi the ardiidus duties of developing a new 
farm, and he cdulinued to assist his father until 
twenly-twd years of age. 

About that tinu! Mr. Eberly was married to 
Miss Eliza J. Alt, a daughter of J. W. Alt, a 
farmer of Johnson county, Iowa. The wedding 
was celebrated on the 7th of February, 1861. 
.Vfter his marriage IMr. Eberly worked at the 
eai'jienter's trade iiiilil 18fi2, when lie rcsiinnded 
to the call of his country for aid in preserving 
the Union and joined the Twenty-second Iowa 
Infantry for three years. Following the close 
of the war he was honorably discharged at Sa- 
vannah, Georgia, July 25, 18f)5. He did a 
soldier's full duty and returned to his home 
with an honorable military r('(M)rd, having aided 
in the defense of the stars and stripes and the 
cause they represented at the battles of Port 
Gibson, Champion Hills, Black River Bridge, 
Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek and tie 
siege of Vicksburg. Although in many hotly 
contested engagements he was never wounded, 
notwithstanding the fact that his uniform was 
several times pierced by rebel bullets. 

Returning to tlu; ([uiet jnirsuits of civil life 
Mr. Eberly resumed work at the carpenter's 
trade in 1865 and was thus employed until the 
spring of 1873, when he came to Woodbury 
county, and ]nirchased a farm of eighty acres 
on Big Whiskey creek, south of the Correction- 
villc road. He increased his holdings from time 
to time until he now owns two hundred and 
forty acres, and he continued active farming 
operations until August 15, 1001, when he re- 
moved to Morningside, where he now occupies 
an attractive home, supplied with the comforts 
and many of the luxuries of life. While upon 
the farm he also conducted a molasses mill, the 
output being from sixty to one hundred gallons 
jier day during the cane season. He also oper- 
ated a ehecsc factory, using fi-om twelve to six- 
teen liiindred |idnnds of milk per day. He oper- 
ated a threshing machine for a number of years, 
and alsd dealt in stock. His varied interests, 
eapalily edudncled, returned to him a most grati- 



526 



I'AST AND I'KKsKNT OF \V()( )|)r,r l.'Y COUNTY 



lying income, and lie prosjiered as the result 
of liis indefatigable eti'ort, strong i)urjiose and 
intelligently directed labor. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Eberly have been boi-n ten 
children, and with the exception of Sherman, 
who was born September 4, 1801), and died 
September 6, 1870, all are yet living, namely : 
Ida May, born November 23, 1861, was mar- 
ried September 3, 1884, to F. E. West, a farmer. 
Frank Sheridan, born May 26, 18C>G, was mar- 
ried March 22, 1888, to Miss Phoebe Craig, and 
is now farming in North Dakota. Bertha 
Olive, born jSTovember 8, 1867, was married 
June 11, 1897, to George Phippen and since his 
death she has become the wife of Edward Sac- 
kett, a farmer of South Dakota. Ottis Victor, 
born June 16, 1871, is a farmer of Woodbury 
county. Dora M., born April 10, 1873, is the 
wife of Paul Hoffman, who is engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits in this county. Fred Hayes, 
born July 14, 1875, was married to Ethel Burk, 
in 1902, and is also a farmer. Josephine Belle, 
born May 21, 1877, was married in 1898, to 
Marsh Parker, a carpenter of Sioux City. 
Luther Sloan, born June 20, 1880, married 
Marie Runge, and is engaged in the tilling of 
the soil in JSTorth Dakota. William John, born 
September 3, 1882, is farming in North Dakota. 
The mother of these children died in June, 
1888, and in September, 1889, Mr. Eberly was 
again married, his second union being with 
Miss Julia Eberly, of Franklin county, Penn- 
sylvania, a daughter of Joseph Eberly, a farmer 
and pioneer of that county. 

In his political views Mr. Eberly is a Repub- 
lican and has been called upon to fill various 
local oflices, having served as justice of the 
peace, assessor, school dii'ector and township 
trustee, while for seven years he was a member 
of the board of supervisors. His oiBcial record, 
like his private life, is commendable, having 
been chnracterized by the straightforward and 
honorable performance of every duty devolving 
upon him. He belongs to the Grand Army of 
the Republic and to the First Baptist church. 



His has been a Imsy and useful life, in which 
have been manifest loyalty in citizenship, indus- 
try in business affairs, and honor in all his rela- 
tions with iiis fellow men. 



ARTHUR V. VAX DORX. 

One of the most entci'prising and success- 
ful fiirnicrs and stock-raisers of Little Sioux 
township is Arthur V. Xan Dorn, who is a 
worthy representative of one of the honored 
pioneer families of this section of the state. 
His paternal grandfather, Cornelius Van 
Dorn, was one of the first settlers of Monona 
county and continued to make his home there 
throughout life. He was born on the iM of 
June, 1793, in New Jersey, and there grew to 
manhood l)ut in early life accompanied his par- 
ents on their removal to Saratoga, X^ew York, 
where thoy were engaged in the hotel business. 
On leaving that state they removed to Ohio, 
where Cornelius \n\i Dorn was married in 
1822 to :\liss ]Mary Wilkinson, a daughter of 
SamiU'l Wilkinson, who made her a jn-esent of 
forty acres of good land in Ohio. It was cov- 
ered with a heavy growth of tiinl)er, which Mr. 
Van Dorn cleared away and then engaged in 
the cultivation of the land, making his home 
thereon until Octol)er, 18.")4, when he removed 
to Fayette cotmty, Iowa. Renting a farm a 
mile southeast of West Union, he resided 
thereon one Avinter and the following ilay rode 
on horseback to Monona county, returning in 
June with the determination to locate in that 
county. Packing his household goods he 
started for his new home in i'()ni])any with his 
wife and two children, one of whom was the 
father of our subject and the other Samuel 
Livingston Van Dorn, now living in Rodney 
at the age of sixty-three years. Three of the 
family, with a part of their possessions, re- 
mained on tbe farm in Fayette county to take 
care of the crop. Our subject's grandfather 
was the second man to locate in Grant town- 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



527 



sliiji, ami ill .Tiily, 185."), piu-cliased the old Seth 
Siuitli t'ai'ui (in section 3, near the present site 
of Rodney on the Chicago, Mihvaukee iJc St. 
Paul Railroad. ^Fr. Smith -was the first set- 
tler of the tnwiiship. I'hronghoiit life Mr. Van 
Dorn continued to make his home in ^lonona 
county, where he died October 1.3, 1876, and 
his wife, who was a native of Kentucky, jjassed 
away on the 29th of Sejjtember, 1879, both be- 
ing laid to rest in the Sraithland cemetery. 

In the family of this worthy couple were 
thirteen children: Lavinia, the eldest, born 
April 2.0, 1823, married Samuel Bixler and 
died in February, 190-1: ; Jane C, born October 
15, 1824, died in California, July 6, 1886; 
Emily, born jSTovember 17, 1826, died in 
1903; Virgil, born July 4, 1828, lives in Rod- 
nej', Iowa ; Washington, born March 6, 1830, 
is the father of our subject ; Hannah was born 
January 30, 1832; Martha S. was born Sep- 
tember 27, 1834; .\manda L. was born May 
27, 1836; Elizabeth, born in Jidy, 1839, is 
deceased ; Samuel Livingston was born ilarch 
15, 1841; Burgess was born August 15, 1842; 
James X., born October 17, 1844, is engaged 
in the real-estate business in Seattle, Washing- 
ton ; and Mary, born -July 24, 1846, died June 
18, 1861, hers being the first death in Grant 
township, Monona county. 

Washington Van Dorn, our subject's father, 
was born in Washington township, Richland 
county, Ohio, ^farch 6, 1830, and was edu- 
cate<l in both common and select schools, the 
latter at P)elleville, Ohio. He accompanied his 
parents on their removal to Iowa in 1854, the 
journey being made with ox-teams, and he re- 
mained with his father for two years after 
locating in Monona county. He then removed 
to section 3, Grant township, where he resided 
until 1860, when he took up his abode on the 
farm in Little Sioux township, Woodbury 
county, now occupied iiy our subject and his 
mother. For six months he was engaged in 
nierrantile liusiness in Smitbland as a member 
of tlio firm of Van Dorn it Billings, his part- 



ner being Rev. D. P. Billings, whose wife was 
a sister of Mrs. Van Dorn. In 1887 Mr. Van 
Dorn erected a stoi-e building in Rodney and 
again embarked in merchandising, but soon 
traded the property for farm land. The build- 
ing is now owned by McDonald & Son, who 
conduct the Rodney Bank. 

At Smithland, ISTovember 2, 1858, Wash- 
ington Van Dorn was united in marriage to 
]\[iss Anna ^i. Van Zant, Avho was born in 
Knox coimtj-, Ohio, April 3, 1835, a daughter 
of Jacob and Sarah (Hntton) Van Zant. 
Three children blessed this union, but Ada 
Alice, born August 8, 1859, died February 
16, 1864, and Florence May, born May 3, 
1865, died March 14, 1904, of pneumonia after 
eight days' illness. The latter married W. L. 
Clark, of Rodney, but left no children. Our 
subject is now the only child living. The fa- 
ther's death occurred January 18, 1898. He 
was a man highly respected and esteemed by 
all Avho knew him and left many friends as 
well as his immediate family to mourn his 
loss. 

Arthur V. Van Dorn was born in Smith- 
land, .January 10, 1868, and was educated in 
the ])ublie schools of that place and at college 
in Sioux City. On leaving school he returned 
to the home farm, where he now lives with his 
mother, but for two years he was engaged in 
merchandising with his father in Rodney un- 
der the name of Van Dorn & Son. With that 
exception he has always followed farming and 
stock-raising and is meeting with excellent suc- 
cess in his operations. He has two hundred 
and twenty-five acres of land, one hundred and 
twenty acres in pasture, one hundred and five 
acres timber land and meadow. He makes a 
sjiecialty of raising Hambletonian trotting 
stock and is an excellent judge of horses. Po- 
liiirally he follows in the footsteps of his fa- 
rlier and su])]iorts the Democratic party. The 
family have always been connected with the 
irrrhndist church and socially he is a member 
of Smilliland Lodoe, Xo. 620, I. O. O. F. 



528 



PAST AXD PIJESEXT OK WooDBrPiY COUNTY 



Wherever known he is held in liigii rcgnrd and 
the family has ever been one of jinimincnce in 
the conimunity where they reside. 



ADELAIDE E. THOMAS, M. D. 

Dr. Adelaide E. Thomas, who is now en- 
gaged in the practice of medicine in Sioux City, 
was born in Canandaigua, Xew York. She is 
the daughter of Enoch and Harriet (Hill) 
Rogers. On the father's side she is descended 
from old Pnritan ancestry, the paternal grand- 
mother being a sister of Ezra Stiles, who was 
president of Yale College for many years. 
The maternal line comes of Quaker stock, the 
grandmother being an Aldrich of Rhode Island. 
Her ancestors were among those who were driv- 
en out of Salem, [Massachusetts, in Roger Wil- 
liams' day. For many generations <in b(]tli 
sides of the family they have been t(>achers, 
preachers, writers and expert ai'tisans. 

Dr. Thomas' father, who was a wagon and 
carriage mantifacturer, removed to Loi-ain 
county, Ohio, during the '50s. It was licrc 
that Adelaide E. Rogers was united in mar- 
riage to William S. Thomas, a wood worker by 
trade. When a few years later Dr. Thomas" 
parents decided to try tlicir fortune in Iowa the 
young couple came with tliem, locating in 
Knoxville. But after a few years' residence 
here on account of Mr. Thomas' failing health, 
they returned to Ohio where Mrs. Thomas for 
a period of twelve years tatight in the ptiblic 
schools. They then returned to Iowa, she still 
following her profession of teaching, serving 
as principal of the schools at Beacon, Xcw 
Sharon, Yan dieter, Webster school in Des 
Moines, and the normal department of Drake 
University. She then opened a ]u-ivafe normal 
school in East Des Moines, conducting it suc- 
cessfully for several years. During all of the 
time after her return to Iowa her summers were 
spent working in the normal institutes of the 
state as instructor and lecturer, lier lecture 
upon Atlantis and those u]ion anatomy and 



physiology being very poi)ular, the latter espe- 
cially being considered very heljjful to teach- 
ers on account of her clear and thorough pre- 
sentation of the subject. All these years, al- 
though one less energetic and systematic would 
have considered their time fully occupied, she 
found time to juii'sue her study of anatomy, 
jdiysiology and medicine, so that when she final- 
ly decided to quit the field of instruction, in 
which she had made such a marked success, 
and take up the i)rofession of medicine she 
had stTch a fotmdation that the work of build- 
ing a complete ])rofessional structure was com- 
])aratively easy. The first two years of her 
medical school work were taken in the College 
of Physicians and Stirgeons at Des Moines. 
She then, after teaching one moi-e year, matric- 
ulated at the Iowa State University, where she 
(■om]ilt4ed her medical course. 

Immediately after her gradiuition, as a mark 
of the confidence in her ability, she was ten- 
dered the position of lious(> physician at the 
State Hospital, which jiosition she filled for 
six months, thereby gaining much knowledge 
and practice. At this time she decided to make 
Sioux City licr home and the large practice she 
has built u]i proves that her decision was wisely 
taken. I)r. Thomas has since taken post grad- 
uate work in Chicago and then the student 
habit that she formed as a teacher still stays 
with her so that nothing in the line of her 
profession escapes her eye or mind. She is an 
active sttpporter of woman's suffrage, the tem- 
]ierance cause and gives her aid and influence 
to all good A\-ork for rlic n|ilifting of linman- 
ity. She is a member of the Christian church 
and as far as ])ossiblc co-ojierates with the 
church activities. She is a member of the 
State ]\lcdical Society and ]iresident of the 
Sioux C'ity Homeojiafbic ^[cdical Society. 

Dr. Thomas is the niotlicr of one daughter, 
Addie, who died one year after her marriage 
to Pierce RatlifFe, then of Xew Sharon, now 
of Sioux Citv. ;Mrs. Rarliffe left a liaby boy 
who survived her but a few mouths. Dr. 




DR. A. E. THOMAS. 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



531 



Thomas' strong mentality and quick intellec- 
tual comprehension has enabled her to master 
the best medical courses and in the practice of 
her profession she displays a ready adaptability 
in applying her knowledge to the needs of her 
patients. 



WILLIA^kl V. DAVEiVPORT. 

William C. Davenport, ex-chief of police of 
Sioux City, who is interested in agricultural 
pursuits as the owner of a valuable and exten- 
sive ranch in Edmunds county, South Dakota, 
was born in Ohio in the year 1861. He received 
l)ut limited school advantages and entered upon 
his business career without capital so that what- 
ever success he has achieved is the direct out- 
come of his own labors, experience and sound 
judgment. During his boyhood days he en- 
gaged in clerking and in 1881, when twenty- 
one years of age, he came to Sioux City, Iowa. 
For six years thereafter he served as deputy 
sheriff of Woodbury county under Sheriffs JMc- 
Donald and Magee. He was later appointed 
deputy United States marshal for the westerji 
division of the northern district of Iowa in 
18S'.> and held the position until 1890. He 
then turned his attention to the livery business, 
but he was not long permitted to remain out of 
public office for his fellow townsmen, recognis- 
ing the value of his service, again called him to 
a position of piiblic trust. In 1893 he wa.-' 
elected sheriff of Woodbury county on the Ee- 
pidjlican ticket and continued in that office for 
six years, discharging his duties without fear 
or favor. In the spring of 1902 he was ap- 
pointed chief of police of Sioux City, wliich 
position he filled until the spring of 1904, and 
was widely recognized as a most eflicient ofiicer. 
He has ever displayed excellent qualifications 
in this and in other offices, was ever gentle- 
manly and kind in the discharge of his dtities, 
yet showing no fear or partiality. He regards 
a public office as a public trust and in the per- 



fornutnce of his work displayed the same 
promptness and care that he has given to his 
private business affairs. He is now the owner 
cif a very extensive ranch of five thousand acres 
in Edmunds county. South Dakota, which is 
well stocked with horses and cattle. In the 
sj^ring of 1904 he established an otfice in the 
Toy building and is successfully engaged in 
private detective work. 

In 1891 Mr. Davenport was married to Miss 
Anna M. Magirl, of Delaware county, Iowa, 
antl they have two children, Florence M. and 
Chester C. Mr. Davenport is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias 
lodge and several other social and benevolent 
organizations. His business interests and his 
(itficial life have brought him a wide acquaint- 
ance and all who know him entertain for him 
high regard, for there are many elements in 
his life record that are worthy of warm com- 
mendation. 



FRAXK .M. COONEY. 

Frank M. Cooney is one of the prominent 
business men of Anthon and a representative 
citizen who for years has been actively engaged 
in the grain and stock trade. Though no land 
is richer in opportunities or offers greater ad- 
vantages to its citizens than America, success 
is not to be obtained through desire, but must 
be persistently sought. In America "Labor is 
king," and the man who resolutely sets to work 
to accomplish a purjjose is certain of success 
if he has but the qualities of perseverance, un- 
tiring energy and jiractical common sense. 
Frank ]\L (Vjoney is one whose career excites 
tlie admiration and gains the respect of all, for 
through his diligence and persistent purpose 
he has won a leading place in Woodbury 
county. 

Mr. Cooney was liorn in Dubuque coiuity, 
Iowa, May 29, 1857, and is a son of Mathew 
Cooney, who came to this state in 1843, when a 



532 



PAST AND TKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



young man of sixteen vcars. lie was one of 
the early residents of L)ul)nqne eounty and 
there develoj)ed a farm, upon which he spent 
his remaining days, his attention being largely 
devoted to the further improvement and culti- 
vation of his land. There he died in I'JOU, at 
the ripe old age <jf seventy-tix'e years. 

It was upon the homestead farm in Dubuque 
county that F. M. Cooney was reared and when 
a young man he went to Cherokee county, where 
he engaged in farming and dealing in stock, 
continuing there for three years. In 1888 ho 
came to Anthon, where he entered into partner- 
ship with B. F. Wilson, built a grain elevator 
and has since engaged in the grain trade. He 
also buys and ships live stock and the firm like- 
wise purchased, owned and improved several 
farms. The partnership was continued until 
18!)4, when Mr. Cooney bought out Mr. Wil- 
son's interest in the business and continued 
therein alone until I'.IOO, when he sold the ele- 
vator and grain business. He owns about one 
thousand acres of land near Anthon in Miller 
township. Some of this land is rented, while 
a large portion of his realty possessions are 
used for j^asturing and feeding the stock. All 
is valuable and well improved land and Mr. 
Cooney is now one of the most extensive realty 
holders in his jxirtion of Iowa. He is also a 
stockholder and director in the Citizens' State 
Bank of Auflidii, ami he owns a good home 
property there. 

In 1881 in Anthon ]\Ir. Cooney was united 
in marriage to Miss Maggie D. Murray, a na- 
tive of Iowa, who was reared and educated in 
Woodbury county and ])rior to her marriage 



was successfully engaged in feachlnt 



Both 



Mr. and Mrs. Cooney are communicants of the 
Catholic church of Anthon, having been reared 
in that faitii. lie votes wifli the Democratic 
party, where national issues are involved, and 
at local elections he is independent, support- 
ing the candidates whom he thinks best quali- 
fied for office regardless of party afliliations. He 
lias never desii-ed office, preferring to give his 



attention to his extensive business interests, but 
he has served, however, for two or three terms 
on the town board and has been a delegate to 
the county conventions. His career has been 
marked by steady progression and, in view of 
the fact that he commenced his business life 
eni])ty-lKnided, his success is all the more re- 
markable. He is now numbered among the 
most enterprising citizens of Author, having 
been engaged in active business here for many 
years and having taken an interested part in 
the maintenance of the eoniniercial life and 
substantial advauet'ineut of the town. He has 
fostered numerous local business concerns and 
has contributed of his means and influence to 
variotis undertakings ealcidated to benefit the 
community at large. 



JA,MKS IXGWEKSOA". 

James Ingwerson, now one of the prosperous, 
enterprising and progressive farmers of Wor)d- 
bury county, living on section 33, Banner town- 
ship, was born in Clinton county, Iowa, Janu- 
ary 10, IST)!), the eldest of the twelve children 
of Frederick and Emma (Heath) Ingwerson. 
His graiid])arents in the nuiternal line were na- 
tives of England and came to America about 
1853, settling in Toledo, Ohio. Mr. Heath was 
a brass molder by trade. From Toledo he re- 
moved to the eastern part of the state, settling 
on a farm, on which he lived imtil about the 
close of the (.^ivil war, when he took a trip to 
England, and on again coming to the United 
States he settled in Clinton county, Iowa, near 
DeWitt, where he engaged in the manufacture 
of brooms. He died at the age of seventy years, 
after wliicli his widow came to Woodbnr\ 
comity, and died a year and a half later, also 
when about seventy years of age. Frederick 
Ing^verson, a native of Hamburg, Germany, 
came to America when about twenty-five years 
of age, believing that he would have better busi- 
ness opportunities in tlie new world. lie made 



I.. 




JAMES 1^G\VEES■0X AND FAMILY. 



PAST AND PHEfeENT OP WOODBUUY COUNTY 



535 



his way to lUiiidis, lix'iiig there iii pioneer times 
when file bridges across the streams were made 
of rails and when the work of progress and im- 
pro^'ement seemed scarcely begun in some sec- 
tions of the state. There he engaged in feeding 
cattle. In Clinton connty, Iowa, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Heath and there remained until 
about the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, 
when he removed to Kansas, there spending one 
Slimmer. On the expiration of that season Mr. 
Ingwerson went to Nebraska, settling northwest 
of Nebraska Cit,y, where he spent his remain- 
ing days. His death was occasioned by dropsy 
in 18S2, when he was fifty-seven years of age, 
and he ^vas buried in the cemetery near Hawk- 
eye, Nebraska. His wife, who is a native of 
England, is still living near Hawkeye and has 
reached the age of sixty-three years. Of the 
twelve children of the family, ten are yet liv- 
ing. 

James Ingwerson, reared on his father's farm 
in the iisnal manner of farm lads of the period, 
early gained practical experience concerning 
the work of the fields and when his assistance 
was not needed in the plowing, planting or har- 
vesting he attended the public schools. When 
seventeen years of age he left home and started 
out in life for himself. He made his way to 
eastern Iowa, where he lived with his maternal 
grandfather, Richard Heath, and worked in the 
neighborhood as a farm hand. A little later he 
came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and was em- 
ployed at farm labor in Lucky Ho11oa\' for three 
or four summers. He then purchased a piece of 
land east of Moville, although the town had 
not been founded at the time. There he re- 
mained for twelve years, siiccessfnlly carrying 
on agricultural pursuits, and during that period 
Moville had its beginning and has entered ujion 
a period of substantial growth. In 1894 he re- 
moved to his present farm in Banner township, 
where he has one hundred and sixty acres of 
rich and productive land. It was, however, all 
raw land when it came into his possession, but 
he has transformed it into rich fields which 



annually return to him golden harvests. Tie 
has a<lded to his phu-c all modern improvements 
and accessories and is justly accounted one of 
the practical and successful faruicrs of his com- 
nninity. 

In 1883 ^Ir. Ingwerson was united in mar- 
riage to ]\Iiss Amelia Hooper, a native of En- 
gland and a daughter of John and Elizabeth 
(Cattell) Hooper, who were also born in En- 
gland. Her paternal grandfather, Godfrey 
Hooper, died in England at tlie age of seventy- 
three years. Her father ami mother are still 
living in that country, the former at the age 
of sixty-eight years, the latter at the age of 
sixty-five years. They were the jiarents of ten 
children, eight of whoni arc li\-iiig. Mrs. Ing- 
werson came from her nalive land to America 
in 1882 and the following year gave her hand 
in marriage to James Ingwerson. They have 
four children: Hosina, James Roy, Elsie and 
Amy F. ilr. Ingwerson gives his jjolitical sup- 
jKU'l to the Republican jiarty and keeps well 
informed concerning the (]uestions and issues of 
the day, but has never sought or desired office, 
]ireferring to give his time and attention to his 
business interests, in whicli be has met with a 
\'erv fair measure of success. 



JAMES HENRY BOLTON. 

J ames Henry Bolton, who is occupying the 
position of deputy clerk of the United States 
circuit and district courts for the Northern Dis- 
trict of Iowa, is a well known and representa- 
tive citizen of Sioux City. He was born Jan- 
uary 20, 1846, and is a son of Judge Thomas 
Bolton, late of Cleveland, Ohio. Having ac- 
quired his preliminary education in the public 
schools of Cleveland, James H. Bolton entered 
the Western Reserve College, now the Adclbert 
College of Western Reserve University, at 
Cleveland, Ohio, and was graduated in that in- 
stitution with the class of 1866. He further 
continued bis studies in the Harvard Law 



536 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBrHY COT-NTY 



School, where he won the degree of Bachelor 
of Law upon his graduation in 1869. 

In June of the same year Mr. Bolton came 
to Sioux City, Iowa, and entered upon the prac- 
tice of his chosen profession, of which he was 
an active representative nntil 1876. During 
the greater part of the tinu' since that year he 
has been in public office and his efforts in be- 
half of his home city's general welfare have 
been effective and far-reaching. In 1877 he 
was elected to the state legislature for the two 
ensuing years and in 1880 he was elected clerk 
of the state courts for his county, for the term 
covering 1881-2. By re-election he was con- 
tinued in the office until 1880 when he declined 
to again become a candidate. In September, 
1882, he was appointed by Judge Shiras as 
deputy clerk of the United States circiiit and 
district courts for the Xorthern District of 
Iowa, Western Division, which office he has 
held continuously to the present time, covering 
a period of twenty-two years. He was ap- 
pointed by President McKinley to the position 
of surveyor of customs for the port of Sioux 
City, Iowa, April 14, 18t»8, and by virtue of 
being a treasury official was appointed custo- 
dian of the government building in this city 
and re-appointed by President Roosevelt, De- 
cember 22, 1902. He is now occupying these 
various positions and over the record of his 
public career there falls no shadow of wrong or 
suspicion of evil. ]\[r. Bolton is a man of the 
utmost reliability who thoroughly performs the 
duties of his positions and meets every obliga- 
tion that devolves upon him in a conscientious 
and faithful manner, and liy v^ason of his fidel- 
ity his fellow townsmen entertain for him the 
warmest regard and confidence. 

Mr. Bolton was married on the 9th of Octo- 
ber, 1870, to Miss Sarah Thorington, a daugh- 
ter of Hon. James Thorington, formerly of 
Davenport, Iowa. Mrs. Bolton died January 
28, 1872, and in February. 1882, Mr. Bolton 
was again married, his second union being witli 
]\riss "Minnie .\. rornisb, a ilaueliter of William 



Cornish, deceased, who was a resident of Elk- 
hart, Indiana. There is one child by the sec- 
ond marriage, Thomas Cornish Bolton. 

^Ir. Bolton is not only well known as a pub- 
lic official, but because of his deep and active 
interest in community affairs has become rec- 
ognized as one whose efforts are of marked 
A-alue in promoting the general progress and 
improvement here. He is identified with fi- 
nancial interests as a director of the Security 
Xational Bank, having occupied the position 
since 1892. In 1890 he built the Bolton Block 
of Sioux City, one of its substantial structures 
and thus contributed to the material improve- 
ment of the county seat. He has been con- 
nected with several other enterprises of Sioux 
City from time to time and his interest in its 
moral development is indicated by the fact that 
he is a helpful and active member of St. 
Thomas' Episcojjal church, in which he has 
been vestryman for twenty years and is now 
senior warden. 



ADET;I5ERT J. WEEKS, M. D. 
For a quarter of a century Dr. Adellicrl J. 
Weeks has engaged in the practice of medicine 
in Woodbury county and is now the postmaster 
of Correctionville, having occupied the posi- 
tion for six years. He dates his residence here 
from 1873, and has been a resident of i!ie 
county since 1872. Dr. Weeks is a native of 
the state of Xew York, his birth having oo- 
cnrved tlu-ro in Wvoniing county on the 6tli of 
October, ISl."!. His paternal grandfather was 
a bnkt'r and miller. His father, Joseph K. 
^^'eeks, was born near the Hudson river in ]^ew 
York, was reared in the Empire state and there 
niarrie<l Fidelia Brayton, also a native of New 
York. He was a miller and millwright by 
trade, becoming familiar with the business in 
rlie east, and in 1855 he removed to Michigan, 
settling in Battle Creek, where he engaged in 
milling, conducting four mills. He afterwai-d 
removed to Illinois, where he resided on a farm 




DB. AND MRS. A. J. WEEKS. 



PAST AND PEESEXT OE WOODBUEY COUNTY 



539 



near Englewodd for a year. His next place 
of residence was Iowa, and juining his son, Dr. 
Weeks, he sjjent his hist years in Correction- 
ville, where he died about 1882. His wife sur- 
vives him and now resides with her danirhter 
in jSTebraslia. 

Dr. Weeks was reared in Battle Creek, Mich- 
igan, and there enlisted N'ovember 3, 1863, 
joining the ]\Iichigan Battalion of Merrill's 
Horse, hiter known as the Second Missouri Cav- 
alry. He was a member of Company II and 
joined his command at Warrenton, Missouri. 
The regiment was attached to the Seventh 
Army Corps, under General Steele, and later 
under General Thomas. He participated in 
the first campaign in Missouri, thence went to 
Little Kock, following Kirby Smith and Mar- 
maduke. He i^articipated in the battles of 
Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Little Rock, and 
served until after the close of the war, when 
he was honorably discharged at Nashville, Ten- 
nessee, September 20, 1865. 

Dr. Weeks then returned to Michigan and 
for two years was a student in the high school 
of Battle Creek. Later he entered upon the 
study of medicine in the University of ifichi- 
gan at Ann Arbor, where he remained during 
the scholastic year of 1868-9, and after re- 
turning to that institution, was graduated with 
the class of 1870. He located for practice in 
Union City, Branch county, where he remained 
for about one year and then opened an office 
in Battle Creek. In 1872 he came to Wood- 
bury county, Iowa, and the following year es- 
tablished his home in Correctionville, where 
he has since been located. He soon built up a 
large practice which extended for miles around. 
He also established the first drug store here and 
continued the business until 1892, when he sold 
out. He l:)uilt and still owns the store in which 
he conducted his drug trade and he has also 
built another business block and a residence in 
Correctionville. 

While at Battle Creek Dr. Weeks was mar- 
ried December 14, 1872, to Miss Gerane E. 



Rogers, a native of Michigan, born and reared 
in Battle Creek. They have one daughter, 
Nellie F., who is now the wife of George .\. 
Bailey, Jr., at Correctionville. 

In his political views Dr. Weeks has been a 
stanch and life-long Republican. He was 
elected and served as coroner for one term, 
was supervisor for one term, has been a mem- 
ber of the school board and city physician. He 
was one of the originators of the state board of 
health, and on the 19th day of July, 1898, he 
was apjjointed postmaster by President Mc- 
Kinley and was re-aj^pointed by President 
Roosevelt; so that he is now filling the position 
for the second term. He has been a delegate to 
numerous county, congressional and state con- 
ventions of his party and is deeply interested 
in the success of the principles in which he has 
firm faith. Fraternally he is connected witli 
the Grand Army of the Republic, and has 
served as commander of his post for two or 
more terms. He is also a Master Mason of Cor- 
rectionville, a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows and has filled all of the 
chairs in the latter lodge, and is now a past 
grand. He is also a member of the National As- 
sociation of Railroad Surgeons, and was also lo- 
cal surgeon for the Illinois Central Railroad for 
a number of years. During the years of his 
residence in Iowa Dr. Weeks, through intelli- 
gent and well directed efforts, has achieved iini- 
fessional success, has rendered helpful and ef- 
fective service in matters of citizenship, has 
won the esteem of his brethren of various fra- 
ternities and has gained the good will, confi- 
dence and respect of all with whom he has been 
associated. 



JOHN FLEMMING. 



John Flemming, a thrifty and enterprising 
farmer and stock-raiser on section 33, Union 
townshiji, where he owns and operates two liun- 
dred acres of well improved and valuable land 



540 



PAST AND PKEbENT OF WOODBLHY COUNTY 



pleasantly located a mile from Correetiouville, 
has been a resident of Inwa since 1869 and has 
made his Imnie npoii liis present farm since 
1870. He was born in West Prussia, January 
1, 184:3, spent his early youth in his native 
country and when twelve years of age came to 
the new Avorld, crossing the Atlantic in 1855. 
He located first in Green Lake county, Wis- 
consin, where he was reared to manhood upon 
a farm. His school privileges were somewhat 
limited and he is largely a self-educated as well 
as a self-made man. After arriving at years 
of maturity, he worked on a steamboat on the 
Fox and Wolf rivers, acting as pilot during 
much of the time. Five years were tlms passed 
and in 186!) he came to Iowa, spending one 
season on a farm in Buchanan county. He 
then purchased a tract of forty acres of raw 
land, whicli wms tlic nucleus of his present 
farm. On this he has since resided. He 
cleared and broke the land, built a house and 
has developed his pro]icrty until it is now a 
very valuable and dcsiralde tract. As his 
financial resources increased he extended the 
boundaries of his farm from time to time lui- 
til within its borders are now comprised two 
hundred and fourteen acres. He has also 
erected a neat and substantial residence, good 
barns and outbuildings, and in fact has carried 
on the work of progress so practically and 
successfully that he now has a valuable farm. 
He started here empty-handed, but his labor 
and strong jiurpose have enabled him to o^-er- 
come all obstacles and difficulties and tii work 
his way upward to the plane of affluence. 

On the 1st of September, 1868, Mr. Flem- 
ming was united in marriage in Wisconsin to 
Ifiss Rosa Lee Zaske, a native of Prussia and 
a daughter of John Zaske, who was likewise 
born in that country an<l spent his entire life 
there. Six cliildrcn li;n-c lieen liorn unto ^Ir. 
and ]Mrs. Flennning: M:ii-y, tlie wife of Anton 
Weber, of ( 'orrectioinillc : .Tohn, who is now 
in Alaska ; Anna, at jiome ; Agnes, a teacher 
in the schools of Woodbury countv; Paiil and 



Clara. They also lost one son, Joseph, who 
died when a yotmg man of eighteen years. 

Politically Mr. Flemming is a Democrat, 
but cast his first presidential vote for Abraham 
Lincoln in 1864. His last ballot was cast for 
W. J. Bryan. He has ever been a believer in 
good schools and the efficacy of employing 
c(jmpetent teachers and he served on the school 
board for a number of years, acting as presi- 
dent of the district. He has also been dis- 
trict clerk and was township trustee for sev- 
eral years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Flemming 
were reared in the Catholic faith and are 
members of that church. He has become well 
known in T'nion township and throughout 
Wooillinrv county as a man of upright char- 
acter and worth, whose word is as good as his 
bond, for in all business transactions he has 
lieen found trustworthy and ever just in his 
dealinys with his fellowmcn. 



JA:\rES BAFEE. 



'James Bauer, who is engaged in general 
farming on section 8, Rutland township, and 
who also feeds stock, finding in these pursuits 
a jjrofitable source of income, was born in 
Scott county, Iowa, March 10, 1870. The 
family is of German lineage and has only been 
represented in this country for two generations. 
Tlie father of our subject was Joachim Bauer, 
who was born in Holstein, Germany, in 1822, 
and there spent the days of his boyhood and 
youth. His wife, Christiana (Patistain) 
Bauer, was also a native of Holstein, born in 
lSi>6. In 1866 Mr. Bauer bade adieu to 
friends and native country and sailed for the 
new world. He did not tarry on the Atlantic 
coast, liut made his way direct to Scott ocunty, 
Iowa, where he rented a farm for five years. 
He next located in Shelby county, where he 
juirchased land and developed a farm of one 
liundred and sixty acres, upon which he and 
his wife still reside. In their family were 




JAMES BAUEE AND FAMILY. 



II 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WUODBUKY COUNTY 



543 



eleven children, seven of whom reached adtdt 
age : Henry, who was a farmer of Plymonth 
county, Iowa, but is now deceased ; Mary, the 
wife of Amiel Bircher, of Montana; William, 
who resides in Shelby county, Iowa ; John, 
also of Shelby county ; Caroline, who is a twin 
sister of John and the wife of Julius Hanson, 
of Pottawattamie county, Iowa; Frank, who 
is living on the old homestead in Shelby coun- 
ty ; and James. The first three children were 
born in the fatherland ere the emigration of the 
parents to the new world. 

James Bauer was in his boyhood days a resi- 
dent of Scott and Shelby counties and in the 
public schools he acquired his education, while 
from his father he received training in the 
practical work of the farm, being thus em- 
ployed until twenty-tive years of age. During 
that period he gained broad practical experience 
in the best methods of developing his land and 
cultivating the fields. After his marriage he 
rented a tract of land and engaged in farming 
on his own account in Shelby county for two 
years. On the expiration of that period he 
came to Woodbury coTinty, having the previous 
year purchased two hundred and forty acres 
of land on section 8, Eutland township. Upon 
this property was a good dwelling. He began 
the further improvement of his farm and not 
long afterward erected a substantial barn and 
all the other buildings for the shelter of grain 
and stock. His labors have been along modern 
lines of agriculture and in addition to the till- 
ing of the soil he has engaged in the raising 
of good stock. He now has a herd of twenty- 
two head of Galloway cattle, also good Chester 
White hogs and each year he sells considerable 
stock which commands high market prices be- 
caiise of its excellent condition. 

In Shelby county, Iowa, on the 7th of March, 
1895, Mr. Bauer was united in marriage to 
iliss Caroline M. Petersen, who was born and 
reared in Germany. They have three chil- 
di-en: Edna, Otto and Emmert R. Since 
casting his first presidential ballot for Grover 



Cleveland ilr. Bauer has given his political 
support to the Democracy at presidential elec- 
tions, but at local elections votes independently 
of party ties. Mr. and Mrs. Bauer hold mem- 
bership in the Lutheran church, in the faith 
of which they were reared, and he belongs to 
Kingsley Lodge, Xo. 204, and Canton I. O. 
0. F., also to the Woodmen Camp at Moville, 
to Kingsley Lodge of the Woodmen of the 
World. His entire life has been passed in 
Iowa and he possesses the enterprising spirit 
so characteristic of the west. He is yet a 
young man, but has already attained success 
which many an older man might well envy, 
and is today classed with the progressive and 
wide-awake agriculturists of Woodbury county. 



WILLIAM MYEES. 



^Vmong the forces and elements that com- 
bined to jilace business in Sioux City upon a 
substantial basis were the energy and capabil- 
ity of William Myers, who for many years was 
connected with the grocery trade of the city, 
being a partner in the extensive grocery house 
conducted under the firm style of Enright & 
Mj-ers. He arrived in Sioux City in 1865 
and up to the time of his death remained one 
of its popular and valued reiDresentatives. A 
native of Vermont, William Myers was born 
Xovember 25, 1852. His parents, Matthew 
and Annie Myers, were also natives of the 
Green Mountain state, whence they removed 
to the west in 1865, locating in Sioux City, 
where Jfatthew Myers engaged first in farm- 
ing and later in teaming and grading for sev- 
eral years. He afterward lived retired until 
his death and l)0tli he and his wife passed away 
here. Four of their children are yet living, 
as follows: Anna, who resides at No. 214 
Tenth sti'eet in Sioux City; Mrs. Daniel Di- 
neen, of Sioux City; John, residing in Sioux 
City ; and ]Matthew, who lives with his sister 
Anna. 



544 



PAST AND FRESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



William ilyers arriving in Sioux City when 
in his thirteenth year, attended the public 
schools here for a short time and afterward 
entered upon his business career as a clerk in 
the grocery store owned by Booge Brothers, 
with whom he remained for several years, gain- 
ing thorough and comprehensive knowledge of 
the business and the best methods of conduct- 
ing a mercantile enterprise. When his em- 
ployers opened a branch grocery store at Dead- 
wood, South Dakota, they sent Mr. Myers there 
to take charge of the new business and he re- 
mained as manager at that point for three 
years. He then went to Fort McGinnis, ilon- 
tana, where he engaged in clerking in a gro- 
cery store for five years. Upon his return to 
Sioux City he entered into partnershij) with 
his brother-in-law, James J. Enright, and they 
established a retail grocery house. The tirni 
first located at 'So. 504 Pearl street and after- 
ward removed to the Follett building. The 
business house is now located at Xo 410 Pierce 
street in the business center of the city. Mr. 
Myers continued in the grocery trade until his 
death, which was prior to the two last removals 
above mentioned. His widow is still a partner 
in the business under the firm name of Enright 
i: Myers, the other owners being James J. 
Enright and Thomas M. Hanlon, until the lat- 
ter gentlemen sold out. A very extensive trade 
is enjoyed, the building up of which was due 
in no small degree to the efforts of Mr. Myers, 
who was classed with the more progressive mer- 
chants of the city. 

Mr. Myers was married in Sioux City to 
Miss Xellie Enright. whose liirth occtirred in 
Port Wayne, Indiana, Jamtary 10, ISoS, her 
parents being Michael and Ellen (Barry) En- 
right, the former a native of Ireland and the 
latter of Canada. They came to Sioux City 
in 1869 and here Mr. Enright engaged in the 
retail liquor business on Pearl street for many 
years, but finally retired to private life with a 
comfortable competence, which he had secured 
throusrh bis own labor. He died in ]\rissoula. 



Montana, and Mrs. Enright now resides with 
her daughter, Mrs. Myers, at the age of sev- 
enty-one years. Five children were born unto 
Mr. and Mrs. Myers, all yet at home ; Thomas, 
William, Mary, Daniel and Ellen. 

In his political views Mr. Myers was an 
earnest Democrat and reading and reflection 
kept him well informed concerning the issues 
of the day and gave him intelligent reason 
for the support which he rendered his party. 
He belonged to the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, the Modern Woodmen Camp and 
several other fraternal insurance orders. Both 
he and his wife have membership in the Catho- 
lic church here. Mr. Myers was particularly 
well kno^\ni in business circles through his long 
connection with mercantile interests in Sio\ix 
City and his sticcess was undoubtedly largely 
due to the fact that he continued in the same 
line of trade in which he embarked when he 
entered the business world. There was no de- 
plorable lack of energy or sagacity in his career 
and on the other hand he manifested an im- 
tiring industry and foresight that won him an 
enviable position among the successful men of 
his adopted city. ^[rs. Silvers now owns a nice 
home at Xo. 412 Tenth street, where with 
her mother she and her children now reside. 



XICHCLAS TIEDE-MAX. 

Xicholas Tiedeniau is practically living re- 
tired although financially interested still in 
some business investments. He stands as a 
representative of a noble class of American 
business men, men whose worth, capacity and 
diligence are demonstrated in the acquirement 
of a competence throtigh methods that neither 
seek nor require disguise. Mr. Tiedeman may 
well be termed a self-made man and his history 
can not fail to prove of interest to many, show- 
ing what can be accomplished by strong and 
honorable purpose. He was born in Holstein, 
Germanv, October 29, 1842, and is a son of 




mCHOLxiS TIEDEMAN. 




MES. NICHOLAS TIEDEMAN. 



PAST AND TEESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



549 



Heiirv :in<l ^largaretta Ticik'iuan, Imtli of 
wlioiii arc iiii«- deceased. Tlie father was a 
farmer by occui^ation. 

Mr. Tiedeman acquired his eihieatiuii in the 
public schools of his native coitutry and in 
186G came to America. He spent the succeed- 
ing summer in Davenport, Iowa, and then took 
up his abode in Woodbury county, where he 
entered a elaim nf one hundred and sixty acres 
of government land in ]^^oville townshij). Turn- 
ing his atteutidii to agricultural pursuits he 
conducted his farm for six years and then came 
to Sioux City in the s]>ring of 1873, having 
sold his farm property. In 1874 he conducted 
the Chicago House and later embarkoil in the 
grocery business with F. W. Antlmn under the 
firm name of Tiedeman \' Antlion. The re- 
lationship was maintained until ISS.'i, when 
Mr. Tiedeman purchased his partner's interest 
and carried on the btisiness alone tintil October 
1, l'.)()."3, when he disposed of his store. lu 
the ]u'evi(ius years he had ijealt to some extent 
in grain and after lUO-2 he became extensively 
engaged in the grain business. He owns at 
the present time six elevators at various points 
in Iowa, with headquarters at Fonda, and his 
purchases and sales of grain are rejiresented 
by a large figure annually. 

On the 22d of March, 1874, :\rr. Tiedeman 
was tinited in marriage to Miss Anna Bremer, 
of Sioux City, Iowa, whose jiarents were resi- 
dents of Schleswig, Germany, where they si)ent 
their entire lives, the father there conditcting 
a mercantile enterprise. Two children have 
been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Tiedeman : .T. 
Albert, born Jantiary 9, 1877, was married on 
the 22d of June, 1904, to Miss May ]\rahauke. 
of Parkersburg, Iowa: Fdmund H., was born 
December 3, 1879, and the brothers are now 
connected with their father in the grain trade, 
under the name of The Tiedeman Grain Ele- 
vator Company. 

]\rr. Tiedeman holds membership relations 
with the Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of 
T'nitod Wnrknu'n, and is also n member of the 



(iernmnia Society. He was alderman of Sioux 
City for one term, serving in 1881. In poli- 
ties he is an Indejjendent or Gold-Democrat. 
The family attend the English Lutheran 
church. Mr. Tiedeman came to this country 
in early manhood with very limited financial 
resources, but he has eagerly embraced every 
opjjortunity for advancement and through his 
unflagging indtistry, perseverance and good 
management he has gradmdly jn-ogressed 
toward success. He is a nuin well liked among 
his friends, wlio arc numerous, and is a most 
generous gentleman and jiublic-spirited citizen, 
his personal characteristics being such as to win 
for him the warm regard of those with whom 
he is associated. 



ALONZO TIFFANY. 

Alonzo Tifl'any, living on section 7, Kedron 
township, has been a witness of the develop- 
ment and progress of Woodbury county through 
more than thirty years and during the period 
of his manhood he has been identified with 
agricultural interests here. The greater part 
of his life has been passed in Iowa, for he 
became a resident of this state when a youth 
of eleven summers. He was born in Walworth 
county, Wisconsin, on the 7th of March, 1859, 
and is a son of Albert I). Tiffany, whose birth 
occurred in Brown county, New York, where 
he was reared. Subsequently he went to Can- 
ada and was married there to Hannah Ten- 
nart, who was a native of that country and was 
of French lineage. Mr. Tiffany was a car- 
penter by trade and also worked at shipbuild- 
ing. He removed to Iowa about 1870, locat- 
ing first in Wapello county and subsequently 
established his home in Greene county. In 
1872 he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, where 
he spent his remaining days, his death occur- 
ring in October, 1893. His wife had passed 
away several years before. In the family were 
seven children, three sons and four daughters: 



550 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODRl'KY COFXTY 



Elwood, who is innv rt'sidiiig in Chicago; Adel- 
bert, a business man of ^loville, Woodbury 
county; Alonzo, Viohi, ^larv, Paulina and 
Emma. 

In taking uji the personal history of Alonzo 
Tiffany we present to our readers the life rec- 
ord of one who is widely and favorably known 
in northwestern Iowa. He was reared to farm 
life and to a limited extent attended the public 
schools but is largely self-educated for his sei-v- 
ices were needed upon the home farm during 
the period of his youth. He assisted his fathei 
imtil twenty-two years of age and was then 
married and stai'ted out in life on his own 
account. It was in Sioux City, Iowa, in Xo- 
vember, ISS-i, that Mr. Tiffany was joined in 
wedlock to i[iss Etta Chase, who was born in 
Bureau county, Illinois, and is a daughter of 
Lyman Chase, one of the pioneer settlers of 
Iowa, now deceased. The young coiiple began 
their domestic life upon a rented farm on 
M-hich they lived for five years and on the ex- 
piration of that period, with the money ac- 
qtiired through his industry and economy. [Mr. 
Tiff'any purchased sixty-two and a half acres 
of his present farm. He at once began its 
improvement, biiilt a small house, plowed his 
land, planted his crops and in course of time 
reaped good harvests. As he found it possible 
he also extended the boundaries of his place 
and now has one hundred and twenty-five acres 
of cultivable land, which is yielding to him a 
good return. His farm is improved with mod- 
ern equipments: there is a neat substantial 
residence and a good barn, the latest improved 
machinery and other facilities to promote the 
farm work and render his labors valuable. He 
deserves mtich credit for what he has done be- 
cause he started in life without a dollar, and 
his labor and enterprise have been the foimda- 
tion upon which he has builded his prosperity. 

Unto Mr. and IMrs. Tiffany have been born 
three children: Lulu. Clara and Clinton. 
The parents are well kno^^Ti in Kedron tovm- 
ship and the hospitality of many of the ^'cst 



homes of their locality is extended to them. 
Politically Mr. Tiffany is a stanch Republi- 
can and cast his first presidential ballot for 
Benjamin Harrison, but the honors and emol- 
uments of office have had no attraction for 
him. He is connected with the Masonic lodge 
at Anthon and his life is in harmony with its 
teachings, so that his liistory displays many 
characteristics which command respect and es- 
teem in everv land and clime. 



JOHX R. HEWIXS. 



In reviewing the history of John R- Hewins 
one is reminded of the words of a great New 
York financier. "If you are not a success 
don't blame the time you live in, don't blame 
the place you occupy, don't blame the cir- 
cumstances you're surrounded with — lay the 
blame where it belongs — to yourself. Not 
in time, place or circimistance, btit in the man 
lies success. If you want success you must 
pay the price." Realizing the truth of this, 
Mr. Hewins has paid the price of concentrated 
effort, of indefatigable energy, of perseverance 
and well apj)lied business principles, and has 
won the victory which he started out to win 
years ago. He is now one of the representative 
insurance men of Sioux City, conducting a suc- 
cessful business. 

Mr. Hewins was born in Rockford, Illinois, 
April 26, 1857. His paternal grandfather, 
Sheardown Hewins, is still living in his na- 
tive town of Lincolnshire, England, where for 
many years he has carried on business as a 
contractor. John Hewins, the father, was born 
in England and on coming to the United States 
in 1856 located at Rockford, Illinois, where he 
engaged in business as a tea merchant, selling 
to the wholesale trade. He married Miss 
Emily Hewins, who though of the same name 
was not a relative. She, too. was a native of 
England and our subject was the only child 
of that marriage. His father died in January, 



PAST AND PRESENT OP WOODBURY COUNTY 



551 



1857, at the age of twenty-six years, about 
three or four months before the birth of his 
son, John R. The mother's death occurred in 
1868 when she was thirty-three years of age. 

John E. Hewins was then a \a.d of but nina 
years of age. He attended the public schools 
of Rockford, Illinois, through the period of his 
early youth and at the age of eleven years be- 
gan working upon a farm, being thus employed 
for five years. When a youth of sixteen he 
secured a position in a wall paper store in his 
native to'mi, where he remained until four 
years had passed. As he neared his majority 
he left Illinois and settled in Omaha, Nebras- 
ka, where he was employed in a commission 
house for two and a half years. When twenty- 
four years of age he came to Sioiix City, Iowa, 
and for thirty days worked for Sheriff IMc- 
Donald, carrying grain to the river boats. He 
was next employed by Tackaberry, Van Kaur- 
en & Floyd in a warehouse, and was afterward 
with the firm as a traveling salesman for a 
short time. A few months later he became a 
representative of E. C. Palmer Sz Company, 
wholesale grocers, and as one of their travel- 
ing salesman was upon the road for eight years. 
In 1889 he became solicitor for Foly & Ken- 
nedy, in the fire insurance business, and a year 
later he formed a partnership with E. D. 
Flynn, in the same line, and they soon won 
a reputation as one of the representative in- 
surance firms of the city. On the 20th of Oc- 
tober, 1903, Mr. Hewins purchased his part- 
ner's interest and has since continued the busi- 
ness alone, representing a number of the lead- 
ing companies of the coitntry and annually 
writing many policies representing thousands 
of dollars. 

Mr. Hewins has a son and daughter, Robert 
A. and Ethel, the latter the wife of C. J. All- 
good, of Sioux City. He was again married 
N'ovcmber 12, 1902, to Elizabeth Marguerite 
Rhoton. His political allegiance was former- 
ly given to the Democracy, but he voted for 
McKinlcv and is a warm admirer of President 



Roosevelt, for whom he expects to cast his vote 
in 1904. He is identified with no fraternal 
organizations, but is a man of genero^^s im- 
pulses, affable in disposition and of even tem- 
perament, and by reason of his strong traits 
of character and kindly spirit has gained many 
friends. 



WILLIAil CARVOSO ESTES. 

William Carvoso Estes, the representative 
of the Crane Manufacturing Company, of Chi- 
cago, acting as manager of its interests at Sioux 
City, Iowa, was born on a farm near Milwau- 
kee, Wisconsin, in 1852. His boyhood days 
were spent amid rural surroundings and his 
early education was acquired in the common 
schools, but advanced opportunities in that di- 
rection were afforded him and he entered the 
N'orthwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, 
in which he was graduated with the class of 
1874, upon the completion of a course in civil 
engineering. In early life he followed his pro- 
fession to some extent, also devoted his atten- 
tion to agricultural pursuits and engaged in 
teaching school. In June, 1882, he removed 
westward, settling at Neligh, Nebraska, where 
he established a hardware store, which he con- 
ducted for more than six years with a fair 
measure of success. In November, 1889, he 
accepted the position of cashier in the Eirst 
National Bank of Neligh, where he continued 
until November, 1894, when he resigned and 
went to California. On the 4th of July, 1895, 
he purchased a stock of plumbing and steam- 
fitting supplies at Sioux City and began busi- 
ness here on his own account, but after two 
years he sold out to the Crane Company of 
Chicago and since that time has been manager 
of this branch of the business here. This is 
one of the sixteen branches established by the 
company in various parts of the country and 
as its representative Mr. Estes is doing a good 



553 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



business, ■\vliicli ri'iiders his services profitable 
to himself and to the corporation. 

On the 26th of December, 1877, occurred 
the marriage of Mr. Estes and iLiss Henrietta 
J. Pilling, of Darlington, Wisconsin. They 
have two children, one of whom is deceased, 
while Elsie, the surviving daughter, is now the 
wife of Dr. R. W. Chamberlain, of Xorth 
Prairie, Wisconsin. Mrs. Estes is a member 
of the Presbyterian church and is an estimable 
lady, who like her husband shares in the high 
regard of many friends. He belongs to the 
Masonic fraternity and is also a valued repre- 
sentative of the Ancient Order of the United 
Workmen and the Benevolent Order of Elks. 
His political support is given to the Repub- 
lican party and while residing in Neligh he 
served as mayor of the city for five years. In 
all matters pertaining to public progress and 
improvement he is deeply interested and his 
co-operation has been given to many movements 
for the general good during his residence in 
Iowa. 



BEXTOX POTTER. 



Benton Potter, whose property interests in 
Woodbury county comprise two hundred ami 
fifty acres of rich land on section 7, Rutland 
township, was liorn in Carroll county, Illinois, 
September 10, lS-t5, a son of Jacob and Julia 
Ann (Kirk) Potter. The father was born in 
St. Lawrence county, Xew York, in 1800 and 
when a young man emigrated westward to the 
new state of Indiana, casting in his lot among 
its pioneer settlers. There he was married to 
Julia Ann Kirk, who was born in that state. In 
1S32 they became residents of Carroll coTinty, 
Illinois, and Mr. Potter purchased laml from 
the government. Xot a furrow had Ijeen turned 
or an improvement made thereon, the entire 
tract being just as it had come from the hand 
of nature. His labors, however, soon wrought 
a change in its appearance and where once 
waved the ]irairie grasses were now seen rich 



ticlijs of grain. He cultivated and improved 
three lunidred and twenty acres and upon his 
farm he reareil his family and spent his remain- 
ing days, passing away in 1867 after a resi- 
dence there of thirty-five years. 

Benton Potter grew to manhood in Carroll 
county and was reared upon the home farm. He 
had but limited school advantages, but since at- 
taining his majority has added largely to his 
knowledge through reading, experience and ob- 
servation and is now a well informed man. In 
early manhood he went to Whiteside county, 
Illinois, and there he chose as a companion and 
helpmate for life's journey iliss ]!fellie M. 
Bull, the wedding being celebrated on the 12th 
of !May, 1870. The lady is a native of Rich- 
land, X'ew York, and a daughter of J. W. Bull, 
who was born in St. Lawrence coiinty near 
Watertown. ]\[r. and Mrs. Potter began their 
domestic life upon a farm in Wliiteside county, 
liut after a year came to Iowa, settling in Story 
comity in 1876 near the town of Xevada. 
Thci-e ^Ir. Potter carried on agricultural pur- 
suits for five years and on the expiration of 
that period he removed to Woodbury county, 
where he engaged in cultivating a tract of 
rented land near Correctionville for a year. He 
then homesteaded his present property of one 
hundred and sixty acres on section 7, Rutland 
township. It was wild and unimproved, but 
he worked on energetically in his fields to make 
them productive and his labors soon wrought 
a marked transformation. He added to the orig- 
inal, purchased a tract of one hundred and 
eighty acres but has since sold ninety acres of 
this so that his farm now comprises two hun- 
dred and fifty acres all in one body. The soil 
was tillable and very productive and each year 
]\rr. Potter harvested good crops as a reward for 
his laliors. 

Unto him and ^Irs. Potter have been born 
the following cliililren : J. W., a soldier of the 
United States army wIkt for three years was in 
the Philippines and is now in San Francisco; 
B. J., who is engaged in farming; Julia A., the 




BENTOX POTTER AND FA]\riLY. 



PAST AND PEES'ENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



555 



wife of Alexins Biirright, of Pierson; Cora, 
the wife of Tred Burright, of Pierson; George 
W., William A. aud Fraiikie, at home. Mrs. 
Potter is a professional nurse and has followed 
that calling from early womanhood. While not 
a member of any church organization at the 
present time, she is connected with numerous 
church auxiliaries, with the Ladies' Aid So- 
ciety and the Christian Endeavor Society and 
is also a member of the Women's Christian 
Temperance Union and with the Ladies' Relief 
Corps. She takes a very active and helpful 
part in benevolent and charitable work and her 
labors have been far-reaching and beneficial. 
Politically Mr. Potter is now a Democrat, but 
his first presidential ballot was cast for James 
G. Blaine. He is accounted one of the substan- 
tial farmers of Rutland townshij) and his prop- 
erty interests arc the visible evidence of his life 
of industrv, thrift and usofuliiess. 



CHRIS E. HASS. 



Chris E. Hass, prominent in the business 
circles of Woodbury county as a representative 
of banking interests in Anthon, was born in 
the city of Clinton, Iowa, June 13, 1871. His 
father was a native of Germany and there sj)ent 
the days of his boyhood and youth. In early 
manhood, however, he bade adieu to his native 
country and sailed for America. He did not 
tarry on the Atlantic coast but journeyed at 
once to Clinton, Iowa. He was engaged for 
some years in the milling business in Lyons, 
Iowa, and he later located on a farm in Clin- 
ton county, where he spent his last years. He 
married Miss Louisa Guht, also a native of 
Germany, and she still survives her husband at 
the age of sixty-seven years. In their fam- 
ily were thirteen children, ten sons and three 
daughters. 

Under the parental roof Chris E. Hass spent 
his early youth and his common-school educa- 
tion was supplemented by study in higher insti- 



tutions of learning. In 18G7, when a youth 
of sixteen years, he went to Holstein, Iowa, 
and there accepted a position in the bank of 
his brother-in-law. He also clerked in his 
store and lumber yard and continued that busi- 
ness connection for a few years, when he re- 
moved to South Dakota, establishing a lumber 
yard of his own at Warling. There he carried 
on a successful business for seven years and 
for about a year he was engaged in the bank- 
ing business at Baltic, Soiith Dakota. On the 
expiration of that period he disposed of his 
business interests in that state and came to 
Anthon, arriving here in 1902. He took 
charge of the Anthon State Bank, of which he 
is a stockholder, director and cashier and un- 
der his management this institution has gained 
great favor with the public and receives a most 
liberal and substantial patronage. Mr. Hass 
has a thorough and intimate knowledge of the 
banking business and his modern and progres- 
sive ideas have gained for him a leading posi- 
tion in financial circles. Since coming to An- 
thon he has purchased a neat residence prop- 
erty and he also owns a good farm of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres in Wolf Creek township. 

Mr. Hass was married in Sioux City, Iowa, 
in 1894, to Miss Agnes Ford, a native of this 
state, who was reared and educated in Sioux 
City, and was a daughter of Mrs. Bridget Ford, 
who died in Sioux City, March 6, 1904. Un- 
to Mr. and Mrs. Hass have been born three 
daughters, Louise, Florence and Henrietta. 

Politically Mr. Hass is a stanch Republican 
who cast his first presidential ballot for Ben- 
jamin Harrison and his last vote for William 
McKinley. He was never an aspirant for of- 
fice, but has given his attention to his business 
affairs with the result that his career has been 
characterized by steady progression and ac- 
complishment. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hass were 
reared in the Catholic faith and are communi- 
cants of that church, while Mr. Hass is a mem- 
ber of the Modern Woodmen Camp. Almost 
his entire life has been passed in Iowa and 



556 



PAST A-XD PIJESKXT OF WOODBUKY COUXTY 



he is thoroughly identitit'<l with the intiTcsts 
of Woodbury county. A young man of excel- 
lent business habits, of upright character and 
of laudable and commendable ambition, he has 
made for himself a creditable name and promi- 
nent position in this county and in social circles 
he has gained warm personal regard, which is 
extended him in recognition n{ his upright 
character and geniality. 



L. J. RTOUDAX. 



Fanning interests liave a worthy representa- 
tive in L. J. Iviordan. who is living on section IT, 
Union townshiji. and whose time and energies 
are devoted to the further cultivation and im- 
provement of his farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres. He has been known in the county 
since 1882, the year in Avhich he established his 
home here and throughout this period he has 
displayed numy excellent qualities which mark 
him as a reliable business nmn and progressive 
citizen. 

Mr. Riordan is a native of the Empire state 
his birth having occurred in Lewis county on 
the 31st of January, 1835. He is a son of 
John Riordan, who was born in the city of Lon- 
don, England, and was reared in that country. 
In early manhood he was pressed into the 
British naval service and was u])on the sea for 
three years. When the vessel arrived at an 
American ])ort he managed to nnike his escape 
on the St. Lawrence river. He then located 
in Jefferson county, Xcw York, and was mai-- 
ried there to ^ifiss Eunice Jeffers, who was 
born near Saratoga, New York, and was a 
datighter of Joseph Jeffers, a native of that 
state and a soldier of the Revolutionary war. 
Mr. Riordan carried on agricultiiral ptirsuitfe 
in Jefferson county up to the time of his death, 
which occurred when ho was fifty-one years of 
age. 

Xo event of special importance occurred to 
varv the routine of farm life for L. J. Riordan 



in his youth. He remained tipon his fatlier's 
farm until twenty years of age, worked in the 
tields through the summer nmnths, assisted in 
harvesting the crops in the autumn and in the 
winter season attended the public schools. In 
the year 1855 be started westward, believing 
that he might have better Inisiness opportuni- 
ties in a section of the coimtry less thickly 
settled where land was cheaper and competition 
not so great. He made his way to Dodge 
cotinty, Wisconsin, and settled upon a farm 
near Beaver Dam. After his marriage he con- 
tinued farming in that locality for a numbei 
of years and in 1882 he came to Iowa, establish- 
ing his home itpon the farm where he has since 
resided. He had pureliased this land previous 
to his removal. It was, however, wild and un- 
improved and with characteristic energy he be- 
gan its development, placing the fields under a 
cultivable condition and continuing the work 
of improvement and progress along many lines 
until he now has a very excellent farm. He 
has also cultivated a half section of land adjoin- 
ing and his own farm comprises one hundred 
and sixty acres. He has built a good house, 
has recently completed a large barn, has planted 
a fine orchard, has also set out shade and ever- 
green trees and, in fact, has added to his place 
many impro\-enients which have increased its 
value as well as its attractive appearance. 

While living in Wisconsin Mr. Riordan was 
united in marriage to Miss Harriet Howe, the 
wedding being celebrated in 1860. In 1891 he 
was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, 
who had been to him a faithful companion and 
helpmate on life's journey for more than thirty 
years. They were the parents of nine children : 
ilaybelle, who is now the wife of Frank Mof- 
fett, of Plymouth county, Iowa ; Mary, the wife 
of Frank Leonard, of Woodbury county ; Xew- 
ell, who carries on agricultural pursuits in 
L^nion township and is the present assessor of 
that township ; Eunice Ward, of Pierson ; Hat- 
tie, the wife of Henry Dreeszen, a farmer of 
Phinottth countv : John, wjio is carrving on 




ME. AND MRS. L. J. EIORDAN. 



PAST AND PEESENT OP WOODBUEY COUNTY 



559 



the home farm ; William, a earjaeiiter and 
joiner, who resides in Idaho ; Orlean, also in 
Idaho; and Albert, at home. On the 18th of 
May, 1895, Mr. Kiordan was again married, 
his second union being with Mrs. Emma Mal- 
lert, the widow of Alexander Mallert. She was 
born in Kendall county, Illinois, and remained 
in that state until a maiden of thirteen years, 
when she came to Iowa. Her father, Henry 
Ahrens, was a native of Germany and became 
an early settler of Illinois. There are three 
children by the second marriage, Goldie, Orpha 
and Bertha. By her first marriage Mrs. 
Riordan had two daughters, Isabella, who is a 
young lady at home, Ethel, who died when 
seven years of age, aiul a son, Alexander ]\Ial- 
lert. 

In early manhood Mr. Kiordan proudly cast 
his first presidential ballot for John C. Fre- 
mont in 1856 and has since been a stanch and 
tried supporter of the Republican party. Eor 
twenty-two years he has lived ujion the farm 
which is now his home and has borne his full 
share in the work of progress and improve- 
ment here. The hope that led him to leave 
Xew York and seek a home in the west has 
been more than realized and he is now enjoying 
the prosperity which comes as the reward of 
honest effort and diligence. 



GEOEGE H. WRIGHT. 

George H. Wright is numbered among 
Iowa's native sons and is now successfully en- 
gaged in farming on section 21, Rock township, 
Woodbury county, where he owns a farm of 
one hundred and sixty acres. He was born in 
Jackson county, September 15, 1860, and is 
a son of Thomas Wright, whose birth occurred 
in Cambridgeshire, England. There the father 
was reared and married, the lady of his choice 
being Miss Susan Claw, who was also born in 
Cambridgeshire. Mr. Wright followed farm- 
ing in England and after the birth of four of 



his children he brought his family to the new 
world, settling in Jackson county, Iowa, where 
he secured a tract of land and began farming. 
After several years he removed to Linn coun- 
ty, this state, and has since resided upon a 
farm there, being one of the well known and 
respected agriculturists of his community. In 
the new world other children were added to 
the family until the number had reached four- 
teen. These are Mrs. Sarah Ann Goodale, of 
North Dakota ; John, of Jackson county, Iowa ; 
William, of Linn county, Iowa ; Thomas, also 
of Linn county; Mrs. Jane Glass, who is a 
widow and lives in Linn county ; James, of 
Sioux City ; George H., of this review ; Maggie, 
the wife of C. B. Robenson, of Linn county; 
Alice, wife of J. B. Robinson, of Linn coun- 
ty; F. A., of Rock township; Susie, wife of 
John iNFeitert, of South Dakota; Albert, of 
Linn county; Charles, of Rock township, 
Woodbury county; and Ida, the wife of Otto 
Briney, of Linn county. This is a remarkable 
family record for the circle yet remains un- 
broken by death and all of the children are 
married and have reared families of their own. 
George H. Wright, spending his boyhood 
days in his parents' home in Linn county, was 
educated in the common schools and gave his 
father the benefit of his assistance until twen- 
ty-two years of age, when he started out in 
life on his owii account by operating a rented 
farm in Linn county. He was married there 
February 16, 1884, to Miss Alice Bice, who 
was born and reared in that county. They be- 
gan their domestic life there and Mr. Wright 
continued farming for three years in that local- 
ity, after which he removed to Osceola coimty, 
where he again followed farming for some 
time. His next place of residence was Wood- 
bury county and he rented a farm, upon which 
he now resides. After two years he rented 
another property, on which he lived for four 
years and then pui'chased the farm which had 
first been his home. With characteristic ener- 
gy ho began its further development and im- 



560 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



proveiiient and its present excellent condition 
is the result of his untiring labors, sound busi- 
ness judgment and thorough knowledge of agri- 
cultural pursuits. He has built a large and 
substantial barn and has ample shelter for 
grain and stock. Shade trees of his own plant- 
ing adorn the land and a good orchard was set 
out by him, together with much small fruit. 
He has fenced the place, thus dividing it into 
fields of convenient size and has engaged in 
the raising of good stock, selling annually a 
large number of cattle and hogs. He has 
proved that labor and enterprise are the foun- 
dation of success and through his strong ptir- 
pose and unfaltering industry he has made for 
himself a place among the substantial agri- 
culturists of Eock township. 

LTnto ^"[v. and Mrs. Wright have been born 
six children, five of whom are living, as fol- 
lows: Sylvia, the wife of Nelson Foster, 
a resident farmer of Rock township ; iAfaud ; 
Inez, who died at the age of four years ; Os- 
car Walter; and Ha. The parents hold 
membership in the Christian olnireh at Rock 
Center and take an active and zmlons inrorosf 
in its work. J\[r. Wright is serving as one of 
its elders and in polities he is a stanch Repub- 
lican who has filled the jiosition of townshiji 
trustee. He has also been a member of the 
school board for a number of years and does 
everything in his ]>owc>r to advance the cause 
of public odncntion in his locality. Tn busi- 
ness affairs ho is found reliable and trustworthy 
and his whole life has boon sueh as to merit 
the confidonco and roirnrd of bis nianv friends. 



CHARLES F. TnO:\IPSOX. M. I). 

Dr. Charles F. Thompson, a representative 
of the medical fraternity of Woodbury county, 
whose years of practice number twenty-two and 
who for nine years has boon a rosidoiit of Cor- 
rectionville, was born in Erie Cdunty, Poimsyl- 
vania, January 1, 18.54. His father, Elliott 
S. Thompson, was also born in Erie county, and 



the grandfather, Hiram Thompson, was a native 
of Xow \'(irk. The family is of English and 
Scutch anot'stry and was established in Xew 
England at an early period in the colonization 
of the new world. Hiram Thompson removed 
from the Empire state to Pennsylvania, and 
there his son, E. S. Thompson, was born, reared 
and educated, continuing to make his homo in 
the place of his nativity for many years. He 
reared his son Dr. Thompson there, and the 
latter was educated in Albia College of Penn- 
sylvania. Subsequently he ]iursued a course 
in Eclectic Medical Institute, attending lectures 
in ISSO. He aftt'rward ])racticoil until 1888, 
when he returned to college and not only com- 
pleted a course in the Eclectic College as a 
graduate of the class of 1888, but also studied 
Homeopathic medicine and was graduated 
from the Pulte College in the same year. He 
afterward made his way westward to Nebraska 
and settled in Springfield, whore he was in 
practice for five years, and in 1804 he came to 
Iowa, establishing his home in Correctionvillo, 
wlioro he has since built up a large and lucra- 
tive business. Ho is now one of the successful 
l>liysicians of the county. He belongs to the 
Eclectic Medical Association and keeps 
abroast with the profession by his perusal of 
budks, journals and medical literature. He is 
continually advancing, rendering his labors 
more effective in the great work of alleviating 
luuiKUi snfi'oring and flio ]ml)lio and the pro- j 
t'cssiiin accord him an enviable jwsition in the 
ranks of his chosen calling. 

Dr. Thompson was married in Ohio to Mrs. 
.Vnra Ella Atwater, a widow, who died in Cor- 
i-octiimvillo, leaving one son, Karl F. Dr. 
Thomjison was again married July 1, 1896, 
his second union being with Gertrude E. Cobb, 
a native of Wisconsin, who was reared in Cor- 
rectionvillo, whore the M-edding was celebrated. 
There are two children liv this nmrriage, Lilah 
Cr. and Russell T. 

Dr. Thompson juirchased lots and built three 
residences in Correctionvillo and now OAvns 




DE. C. F. THOMPSON. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOClDBURY COUNTY 



563 



five dwellings and his office in this city. Tims 
he has heliDcd to improve the town and his in- 
terest in its progress and upbnilding is also 
marked by active co-operation in many meas- 
ures for the general good. He and his wife are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal chnrch 
and he is an earnest and zealous Kepublican 
who always supports the measures of the party, 
yet has never sought or desired office for him- 
self. Fraternally he is connected with the 
Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias lodges 
of Correctionville. Since determining upon a 
life work he has persevered in his persistent 
purpose to win success through cajjable and 
honorable methods and in his chosen calling, 
wherein advancement depends entirely upon 
merit, he has gained for himself an enviable 
place and honored name. 



P. P. COMOLI. 



P. P. Comoli is projirietor of the Corn Pal- 
ace Cement Works at Sioux City, and stands 
at the head of his calling in the northwest. He 
has developed a business of wide proportions 
that is to-day recognized as a leading industrial 
enterprise of Woodbury county and, moreover, 
his life history is an illustration of the fact 
that success may be attained through unfalter- 
ing energy and undeviating purpose and that 
America affords splendid opportunities to her 
adopted sons who, coming to this world with- 
out acquaintance with American customs or 
the language of the people, nevertheless find 
the opportunities that lead to prosperity. 

Mr. Comoli was born at Lake Magiore, Swit- 
zerland, March 16, 1862. He attended the 
common schools of his native country and 
served an apprenticeship in the cement works 
at Lausanne, Switzerland, and also with the 
Vicat Company of Grenoble, France, complet- 
ing his apprenticeship with the latter. In the 
year 1884 he crossed the Atlantic to the new 
world and soon afterward established his Home 



in Sioux City. He was variously employed 
until 1887, when he began business as a cement 
contractor. Having learned the business in 
some of the largest houses in France, and hav- 
ing had many years' experience in the houses 
of LaPorte de France and Maison Vicat of 
Grenoble, the largest companies in Europe 
(from whom he holds certificates as to his 
qualifications), he can justly claim to be an 
expert in the use of cement, and the only spe- 
cialist in the trade that has had a regular 
course of training in Europe; not merely by 
theory, like many of the western mechanics, 
but by practical experience in the birthplace 
of the industry. This has enabled him, with 
three years' experience in this climate, to un- 
derstand the difference between handling the 
cement here and there and to find the remedies 
for preventing the cement from breaking from 
severe frosts. Trained from youth in the 
handling and working of cement Mr. Comoli 
stands unrivaled in Sioux City and the north- 
west, as a master of every branch of his pro- 
fession. He employs a staff of skilled work- 
men, so that he is prepared to give complete 
satisfaction in all kinds of work. He has al- 
ready done a great deal of some kinds of work 
here that was entirely unknown before his ar- 
rival. He introduced the present system of 
cement working in Sioux City and he did the 
work of the South Dakota Building of the 
World's Fair in Chicago. He completed the 
contract for the construction of similar work 
around the South Dakota building at the St. 
Louis Exposition for 1904. Many products 
of his constructive work are: Sidewalks, 
driveway and border; steps and cui-bing; cel- 
lar floors, halls and stairways; arches made of 
cement, concrete or brick ; window sills and 
caps, plain and ornamental; cornice, on brick 
or any kind of work; facing, on brick walls 
and cement-retaining walls ; garden fountains, 
basins, cisterns and reservoirs; concrete foun- 
dations for buildings : hexagonical or other tiles, 
sewerace and gutters ; floors for creameries. 



564 



I'AST AND PKESEXT OF \V( )()1)BL1!Y COUNTY 



breweries ami stalilcs; waterfalls and cascades; 
brick walks ; stone blocks for graveyards, and 
vases for flowers ; artificial stoue curbing for 
fences ; and, in fact, anything that can be 
made with cement. Mr. Comoli has recently 
associated with him in business F. Van Gor- 
der as a partner and the name of the Corn 
Palace Cement Works is retained. The fact 
that they have many imitators is a sure indi- 
cation that their work is of the highest grade. 
In 1893 Mr. Comoli was united in marriage 
to Miss Anna Kucera, of Vienna, Austria, and 
they now have a pleasant home in Sioux City. 
He is a loyal son of his adopted land and al- 
though when he came to America he was unable 
to speak the English language he has steadily 
progressed in btisiness lines and to-day is one 
of the leading representatives of industrial art 
in Sioux City, enjoying a success which he 
riehlv merits. 



FRAXK VAX GORDER. 

Frank Van Gorder, one of the enterprising 
young business men of Sioux City, Iowa, now 
a partner of P. P. Comoli in the ownership 
and conduct of the Corn Palace Cement Woi'ks, 
was born in Sullivan county, Xew York, Sep- 
tember 18, 1865, his parents being James and 
Clara (Morris) Van Gorder. The father was 
a native of Xew England and was a ship 
builder by trade. His death occurred in 1877 
when he was sixty-four years of age, but his 
widow still survives. 

Mr. Van Gorder, the second in their family 
of four children, was educated in the public 
schools and at the early age of thirteen years 
started out in life for himself. He was em- 
ployed in a lumber mill for four years and 
afterward engaged in the laundry business at 
N'ewburg, Xew York, at Albany, Xew York, 
and at Lansing, Michigan. He carried on that 
pursuit in his o^vn country when twenty-one 
years of age, condttcting a laundry at Lansing 



for three years. He was also proprietor of a 
laundry at Fishkill Landing, Xew York, for a 
year, and at the end of that time he returned 
to Lansing, Michigan, where he continued in 
the same business for three and a half years. 
He then removed to Bay City, Michigan, where 
he was located for two years, after which he 
went tipon the road as a traveling man for a 
Cincinnati firm, which he represented for two 
years. 

Mr. Van Gorder came to Sioux City, Iowa, 
in the employ of the Standard Oil Company and 
acted as its traveling salesman for a year prior 
to becoming a jjartner of Mr. Comoli in Feb- 
ruary, 1903. This relationship has been main- 
tained for almost two years and the business 
is constantly growing, in both extent and im- 
portance. It was established by Mr. Comoli 
in 1888 and its specialty is cement curb stones, 
steps, floors, tile-laj-ing and all kinds of orna- 
mental cement work on the exterior of build- 
ings. They are also workers in plain and 
ornamental Venetian mosaic marble flooring 
and vestibules. 

Mr. Van Gorder was married, in 1892, to 
Miss Harriet Rorison, of Saginaw, Michigan. 
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias 
fraternity and is an enterprising man who in 
the conduct of his present business enterprise 
is displaying marked energy as well as dis- 
criminating judsinent. 



G. E. ADAMS. 



G. E. Adams is one of the leading farmers 
and extensive stock-raisers of Woodbury comity. 
Throughout his entire life he has engaged in 
agricultural pursuits and to-day is enjoying a 
very gratifying measure of success, while con- 
trolling large farming interests. He was born 
upon a farm in Rock Island county, Illinois, 
on the 28th of May, 1853, and is a representa- 
tive of an old southern family. His paternal 
grandfather, Ephraim Adams, was a native of 




G. E. ADAMS AND FAMILY. 



PAST AND PRESENT OP WOODBURY COUNTY 



,567 



North Carolina, whence he removed to Ken- 
tucky. There he reared his familj, consisting 
of several sons and two daTighters, of whom 
Elijah Adams, the father of our subject, was the 
eldest. Elijah Adams was born in Kentucky, 
was there reared and educated and after attain- 
ing to man's estate he was united in marriage 
to Miss Rebecca Buntin, who was also born in 
that state. They removed from Kentucky to 
Indiana, Mr. Adams being about twenty-five 
years of age at the time. lie was a farmer and 
stock-raiser and always followed that pursuit. 
When he went to Illinois he settled upon a 
farm in Rock Island county, and his last days 
were passed upon a farm near Smithland, Wood- 
bury county, Iowa, where he died about 1890, 
at the age of seventy-four years. His wife died 
in December, 1900. They were the parents of 
four children. Elizabeth G. is the wife of Pal- 
mer Hall, a I'esident of Smithland, and they 
have six children. James Wallace is married, 
resides in Smithland and has two children. 
William Harrison, also of Smithland, is mar- 
ried and has three children. 

George E. Adams, the yoimgest of the family, 
was reared under the parental roof. He was 
only three years old when brought to Iowa from 
Illinois on the removal of the family to this 
state and thus he is one of the early settlers, his 
residence in the state covering almost a half 
century. He was reared amid the wild scenes 
of the frontier, where the settlers had to endure 
many hardships and trials in reclaiming the 
wild land for the purposes of civilization. He 
assisted in the arduous task of developing the 
home farm and when his services were not 
needed in the fields he attended the public 
schools. In early manhood he began farming on 
his OAvn account by renting and operating his 
father's farm, and he afterward purchased a 
quarter section of land on which stands his pres- 
ent residence, while his farms in Willow tovsni- 
ship now comprise eight hundred and forty 
acres of rich land, he having extended the boun- 
daries of his property by additional purchase. 



His farm near Smithland of three hundred and 
forty acres is managed by his son. The balance 
near his home he manages himself. His fields 
are now well tilled and moreover he is exten- 
sively and successfullj- engaged in the rairiing 
of live stock, making a sjiecialty of Poland 
China hogs, Durham cattle and Norman horses. 
He now has one hundred and fifteen head of 
cattle and sixteen head of horses upon his place. 
His farm is neat and thrifty in appearance, and 
a glance will indicate to the passerby the careful 
supervision of a practical and painstaking 
owner. 

In 1873 Mr. Adams was united in marriage 
to Miss Ella A. McClusky, a daughter of Alex- 
ander McClusky, of Pennsylvania. He was a 
farmer up to the time he enlisted in the army 
at the outbreak of the Civil war. He, however, 
had moved to Jackson county, Iowa, about 1854. 
Enlisting in the Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer 
Infantry, he served about two years, wlien he 
became ill from exposure and died in 186.3. The 
mother now resides at Sergeant Bluff, Wood- 
bury county. Mrs. Adams was one of a family 
of five children, all living: W. H., who resides 
in North Dakota ; Elizabeth, wife of Robert 
O'Connor, of Anthon, Iowa ; Addie, widow of 
E. R. Evans and a resident of Sergeant Bluff ; 
Alexander, who resides in Anthon, Iowa; and 
Mrs. Adams. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Adams have 
been born three children. Ellis Leroy, born De- 
cember 12, 1878, is married and lives on a farm 
near Smithland. He has two children, Nellie 
Katherine and Dariel, aged respectively three 
and one years. Margaret R., twenty-four years 
of age, is the wife of Fremont Burns, and has 
one daughter, a year old. True E., born Jan- 
uary 19, 1888, is at home. The girls attended 
school at Morningside, and the son was a stu- 
dent in Cornell College, at Mount Vernon, 
Iowa. Mrs. Adams was born in Jackson county, 
Iowa, June 23, 1857, and has been a faithful 
companion and helpmate to her husband. The 
family are members of the Methodist church at 
Holly Springs, and Mr. Adams is serving aa 



PAST AND PKE8E^■T OF WOUDBUKY COUNTY 



class leader and steward in the eliiireh. In poli- 
ties he is a Prohibitionist, which indicates his 
position on the temperance qnestions. He is a 
man of upright principles and high ideals and 
he always favoi"s and siipj)orts every movement 
which he believes will benefit his fellow men or 
advance the material, social, intellectnal and 
moral welfare of the commnnitv. 



(_ HAKLES F. LYTLE. 

Charles F. Lytic, a general builder and con- 
tractor of Sioiuc City, Iowa, has arisen to an 
enviable position in business circles from a 
humble position, and in this enlightened age, 
when men of industry, energy and merit are 
rapidly pushing their way to the front, those 
who, by their individual efforts, have won favor 
and success, may properly claim recognition. 
Such a one is Mr. Lvtle. Thoroughness char- 
acterizes all his efforts and has been one of 
the strong elements in his prosperity, while 
his reliability has also figured as a leading fac- 
tor in his advancement. 

Mr. Lvtle was born September 11, 1860, in 
Johnson county, Iowa, a son of Kobert B. and 
Sarah (Kemp) Lvtle. The Lvtles lived origi- 
nally in Xew York and later in Ohio and the 
father, a native of the latter state, is now a 
gi-ain dealer of Chicago. He had five broth- 
ers, but only two survive: Charles F. and 
Will, the latter of Cincinnati, Ohio. The for- 
mer, at the time of the Sioux Indian massacre, 
came to the west to fight the Indians, was at 
Fort Dodge and Cherokee, and was afterward 
mustered out at Yankton, South Dakota. The 
other brothers died in early life. William 
Lytle, a cousin of our subject, was a brigadier 
general in the Civil war and was killed at 
Chickamauga. 

Charles F. Lytle spent his boyhood days 
upon an Iowa farm until fifteen years of age. 
and during that period devoted a portion of 
the time to the work of the schoolroom, as 



a pupil in a district school near Storm Lake. 
For ten years after putting aside his text- 
books he was connected with the grain trade, 
in the employ of his father. He was afterward 
in a wholesale and retail dnig store at Fort 
Dodge, and when twenty years of age he be- 
gan business for himself as a farmer and grain 
dealer, at Sulphur Springs, Iowa, where he 
carried on the business for five years. He 
afterward spent two years as a traveling sales- 
man in Xebraska and western Iowa, and in 
1899 he came to Sioux City, where he was en- 
gaged in the real-estate business for a year. 
He then turned his attention to the plumbing 
business and the installation of heating and 
steam and hot water plants, and continued 
therein until lOOo, when at the death of R. F. 
Baker, a general contractor and builder, he 
purchased his business and is now conducting 
general btiilding and contracting operations. 
The first year he did a business amounting to 
five thousand dollai-s and in 1903 to two h\in- 
dred thousand dollars. The company is known 
as the Lytle Construction Company, of which 
Mr. Lvtle has been the chief promoter and is 
the president, w-hile Leonard Lytle is vice-pres- 
ident. He has been very successful in the erec- 
tion of large buildings and important contracts 
have been awarded him. He erected the build- 
ing kno^\^l as the Swasey block, in opposition 
to all the labor unions of Sioux City, and has 
shown a commendable determination to conduct 
his btisiness interests according to his own 
plans without outside dictation, and in the 
contest Avith the tinion has been victorious. 
There is no man who believes more in paying 
a fair wage, but his independent spirit could 
not brook tJie dictation of men who have no 
right to interfere with his private busiaess in- 
terests, and his course has won the approval of 
the large majority of fair-minded citizens here. 
In consequence a large patronage has been ac- 
corded him. He erected the Deering building 
of Sioux City, a thirty thousand dollar struc- 
ture: received and executed the contract for 




C. F. LYTLE. 



PAST AND PRES'ENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



571 



the Mason City sewer system ; also the Sac 
City sewer system and that at Dell Rapids, 
South Dakota; the waterworks at Laurel, iSTe- 
braska, and the paving and cement work around 
the Northwestern passenger station in Sioux 
City, which is the only piece of Galesbiirg brick 
in Sioux City. This work was completed at 
a cost of twenty thousand dollars. He is now 
erecting a block of his own, which will be 
known as the Lytle block, a sixty-five thousand 
dollar building, while the ground, which he also 
owns, is worth fifty thousand dollars. The 
building is at the corner of Nebraska and Fifth 
streets, one hundred feet square, is three stories 
in height with basement and is a fine modern 
structure. 

]Mr. Lytle was married in 1900 to Miss Lena 
Klingcman, a daughter of Dr. J. C. Klinge- 
man, of Papillion, jSTebraska. He is a Mason, 
having been initiated into the order at Storm 
Lake, Iowa, in 1893, while he is now aifiliated 
with Landmark Lodge, at Sioux City. He is 
also a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at 
Storm Lake and in politics is a Eepbulican. He 
is a man of strong jjurpose, of high principles 
and fearless in his defense of his honest convic- 
tions, and bis independent and straightforward 
conduct in relation to his business interests has 
won for him a Jiigh measure of respect. 



A. W. HATFIELD. 



A. W. Hattield, living on section 26, Rut- 
land townshi]), and well known as a practical 
and i^rogressive farmer and also as an auc- 
tioneer, has been a resident of Iowa through 
six decades and is one of the honored pioneer 
settlers of Woodbury county, arriving here on 
the 10th of June, 1867. He was born in 
Cattaraugus county, New York, April 29, 
1844, and is a son of Eli Hatfield, who was 
also born in the Empire state and there mar- 
ried Miss Anna Thayer, who was likewise a 
native of New York, and a daughter of Squire 



Thayer, of Cattaraugus county. Mr. Hatfield 
followed farming in the east until 1844, when 
he removed to Iowa, locating in Clinton coun- 
ty, north of DeWitt. There he entered land 
from the government. Not a furrow had been 
turned or an improvement made thereon, but 
with characteristic energy he began the culti- 
vation of a farm and placed two hiindred acres 
under the plow. He put good improvements 
upon it, reared his family there and continued 
to make his home upon that place until called 
to his final rest in the year 1899. His wife 
died upon that farm about 1890. In their 
family were five children, of whom the subject 
of this review is the eldest. The others are 
R. S., who is living in Correctionville ; Eugene, 
a farmer and gardener of Clinton coimty, 
Iowa ; Carrie, the wife of Jacob Klotz ; and 
Charles of Sioux City. 

A. W. Hatfield was reared to manhood in 
Clinton county, Iowa, on the old home farm 
and early became acquainted with the arduous 
labor necessary for its development and cul- 
tivation. His common-school advantages were 
supplemented by an academic course and thus 
he was well qualified for life's responsible du- 
ties. When he had arrived at man's estate he 
was married in Clinton county, September 17, 
1864, to Miss Adelaide Willey, a native of 
Buffalo, New York, but reared in Canada, 
whence she afterward came to Iowa. Her 
father, Benjamin Willey, settled in Clinton 
county about 1862. He was a native of Can- 
ada, spent his youth there and was married in 
Buffalo, New York, to Pamelia Seymour, who 
was born in the Empire state. Mr. Willey 
was a blacksmith by trade and followed that 
pursuit in early life, but on removing to Iowa 
turned his attention to farming, settling upon 
a tract of land in Clinton county. There were 
two sons in the family, W. S. Willey, who is 
now living on a farm in Minnesota, but was 
formerly a railroad engineer, making the run 
to Sioux City for eighteen years ; and J. A. 
Willey, who is a traveling engineer in the 



572 



PAST AND PRESKNT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



UDi-tliwest and makes liis home in Xorfulk, Ne- 
braska. 

After his marriage ^Ir. IlattielJ engaged 
in farming in Clinton county for three years 
and then came to Woodbury county. He se- 
cured a homestead claim of one hundred and 
sixty acres constituting the fai-m upon which 
he resides and was the first settler in Rutland 
township. He built a log house which he oc- 
cupied for several years. He planted a grove 
and fruit trees, began to plow his land and to 
improve his farm. About 1872 he built a 
farm house and he has since added to tliis and 
remodeled the dwelling until he now has a very 
good residence. He has also erected a large 
and substantial barn. He raised the timber 
and made the lumber for this structure, and 
he has upon his place other substantial out- 
buildings. When he settled here it was five 
miles to the home of the nearest neighbor, but 
as the years have passed the country has be- 
come thickly settled. ^Mr. Hatfield has been 
quite successful as a farmer and stock-dealer 
and has liecomc widely known as an auctioneer. 
He has followed that calling for twenty-five 
years, crying farm sales, and now conducts 
about two sales each week. He has been a 
member of the Horticultural Society for a 
number of years and a director of the North- 
western Society. He and his son Willcy and 
J. A. Wood are the owners of the Rock Branch 
Telephone Exchange, with forty-eight miles of 
line extending tlirough three townships and 
with connection M'ith the Iowa state line. 
These gentlemen ]iiit in and own the line and 
it is a wortliy ami well patronized enterprise. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield are the parents of 
two sons, Willey, who assists his father in the 
operation of the old home farm; and Eugene, 
who died at the age of twenty-seven years. He 
\va> a tnacliinist and died in ^fonfana. ^Ir. 
Hatfield is a strong Republican in his politi- 
cal views. He was elected and served for four 
years as justice of tlie peace, was townshi]i as- 
sessor for tiireo voars. scliool trcasnrc^r tjiree 



years, secretary of the sclioo] board for seven- 
teen years, township trustee for a number of 
years and has served as a delegate to almost 
every county convention and has twice been a 
delegate to the state convention of the party. 
He is, indeed, an influential factor in local 
political circles and in office has discharged 
his duties with the utmost jjroniptness, regu- 
larity and fidelity. He has been a resident of 
Iowa from his infancy to the present time, 
covering sixty years, and was one of the first 
settlers of Woodbury county. There are few 
who have so long witnessed its growth and de- 
velopment as Mr. Hatfield and be has a very 
wide acquaintance within its borders. He 
lived in Iowa when the greater part of its land 
was still in the possession of the government, 
when its streams were unbridged and its for- 
ests imcut and when there was no railroad to 
carry the traveler across its broad prairies. 
He has walelied with interest the progress of 
civilization, and in the community where he 
has made his home has borne his full share 
in the work of progress as a public-spirited cit- 
izen. 



J A:\rES :^r< DONALD. 

This well known and prosperous farmer of 
Little Sioux township was born on a farm in 
Lake county, Illinois, October 24. 1S49, and 
is a worthy reiu'csentative of an honored pio- 
neer family of Woodbury county, where almost 
his entire life has been passed, having been 
brought here in 1S5-4 by his parents, James 
and Jenette (Parlen) ]\rcDonald, both natives 
of Scotland. Our subject's Grandfather Mc- 
Donald sjicnt liis rntir(> life in that country, 
fhci-c dying at a \cvv advanced age before the 
emigration of his son to .Vmcrica. James Mc- 
Donald, Sr., was the only one of the family 
to come to the new world. In his native land 
he received a good ed\ication and learned the 
ston(>-mason's trade. Tt was about 184.'i that 




MR. AND MRS. JAMES McDONALD, SR. 




ME. AND MRS. JAMES McDONALD, JE. 



PAST AND I'KESENT OF WOODBl'RY COUNTY 



577 



he crossed the Atlautic and became a resident 
of the TJuited Staves. After spending some 
time in Lake county, Illinois, he removed to 
Woodbury county, Iowa, in 1S54, being the 
third to locate in Little Sioux township, as 
Mr. Lee settled there iu 1851 and ^Ir. Smith 
in 1853. The journey to this county was niadt 
by boat and train to St. Josepli and thence 
across the country by team. The family settled 
upon the farm now owned and occupied by oui 
subject and here the parents spent their re- 
maining days, the father dying in January, 
1882, and the mother, who was born in Glas- 
gow, Scotland, passing away in March, 1883. 

In the family of this worthy couple were sev- 
en children, namely: William W., now sixty- 
two years of age, who is engaged in the bank- 
ing business in Kodney, Iowa ; Mai'garet, wjio 
married F. L. Smith, a nephew of O. B. Smith, 
and died at the age of tliirty-tive years, leaving 
iowY children; Agnes, who died at the age of 
twelve years and was the second person buried 
in the Smithland cemetery ; James, the next 
in order of birth : Elizabeth, who died in in- 
fancy in Illinois; Laura, deceased wife of Ber- 
ick Bennett; and Isabel, who died in 1871, 
at the age of fifteen years. 

James McDonald, of this review, is indebted 
to the comxaon schools of this county for the 
early educational advantages he enjoyed. D\ir- 
iug his boyhood he aided his father in the work 
of the home fai-m and since attaining man's 
estate has engaged in agricultural pvirsuits on 
his o^^^l accoiint. He is now the owner of 
three hundred and twenty acres of well im- 
proved and vahuible land under a high state 
of cultivation. He has a fine, commodious resi- 
dence, erected in 1873, and the place is com- 
plete in all its appointments. In connection 
with general farming Mr. McDonald is quite 
extensively engaged in stock raising and finds 
that branch of his business quite profitable. 
He has one hundred head of fine shorthorn 
cattle, twelve horses and seventy hogs of the 
Poland China breed. He is a iiroirressive and 



painstaking farmer and has met with merited 
success iu all his undertakings. 

ilr. ]\IcDonald has been twice married, his 
first union being with Miss Ella M. ilorgan, 
a native of Tennessee and a daughter of John 
Morgan. She came to Iowa iu 1881 and died 
iu 18115, leaving three children, as follows : 
Ida, born in 1882, is now the wife of L. W. 
Cleveland, of Eodney, and two children, Franz 
D., who is living, and James, deceased. Will- 
iam ^[., born in 1884. is at home with his fa- 
ther. He had a twin sister who died in in- 
fancy. Leonai'd, born in 1890, is attending 
school. In April, 1001, Mr. McDonald wedded 
Miss Betsy Landon, a native of ]\Iissouri. They 
attend the Congregational church of Rodney 
and are people of jn'ominence in the commu- 
nity where they reside. ]\rr. ]\rcDonald's par- 
ents were Presbyterians in religious belief but 
during their residence in Iowa attended the 
l^^ethodist Episcopal church. Socially our sub- 
ject is identified with the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows and i^ bold in high esteem by all 
who know him. 



SAMUEL TAIT DAVIS. 

Among the promoters and Tipbuilders of 
Sioux City Samuel Tait Davis was prominent. 
With keen discrimination he recognized possi- 
bilities and iitilized opportunities and contrib- 
uted in large and important measiire to the im- 
provement of the city along substantial lines 
(if development. In his business career he 
worked his way upward from humble surround- 
ings to large worldly success through the op- 
portiniity which is the pride of our American 
life, and his value as a citizen and business 
iiinn were so widely recognized that his death 
was regarded as a public calamity in Sioux 
City. IMr. Davis was a native of Meadville, 
Pennsylvania, his parents being George and 
Eliza (Eeichard) Davis. Until ten years of 
age he dwelt with liis ]iarents in Meadville and 



578 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



during a portion of that time attended an acad- 
emy. The family afterward became residents 
of ITercer county, Pennsylvania, where Mr. 
Davis of this review continued imtil twenty- 
one years of age, assisting in the arduous task 
of clearing and developing a fai-m which was 
covered with a heavy gro^vth of timber when 
it came into possession of his father. He also 
attended the pioneer schools which existed in 
that frontier neighborhood and later he engaged 
in teaching. Desirous, however, of acquiring 
more advanced knowledge himself, he entered 
Allegheny College, at Meadville, leaving that 
institution while in the sophomore year, in 
1852. Subsequently he became principal of 
Greenville Academy at Greenville, Pennsyl- 
vania. Entering upon the study of law under 
the direction of Hon. David Derrickson, of 
Meadville, he was admitted to the bar in the 
autumn of 1885 and then, believing that he 
might have better opportunities in the west, 
he came to Sioux City, Iowa, arriving here on 
the 29th of February, 1856. 

Mr. Davis became a partner in the firm of 
Parker, Gray k Davis, land agents and attor- 
neys, and with the growth of the town their 
clientage rapidly increased. Mr. Davis con- 
tinued to make investments in realty and after 
a number of years he abandoned the practice 
of law in order to give his attention to his ex- 
tensive property interests. He platted several 
additions to the city and in many other ways 
materially advanced its progress and upbuild- 
ing. Perhaps the greatest improvement con- 
ceived and carried out through the genius of 
Mr. Davis was the straightening of the channel 
of the Floyd river within the city limits. 
However, it is because of the building of her 
railroads that Sioux City owes to him a debt 
of gratitude which can never be repaid. The 
early development of a conomunity depends 
upon its railroad facilities which bring it into 
close touch with other parts of the country, 
affording a market for its products and bring- 
ing to it all necessary supplies. Mr. Davis 



aided in organizing and incorporating the 
Sioux City A: Pembina Railroad Company. 
He drew up the articles of incorporation and 
assisted in organizing the Sioux City & St. 
Paul Railroad, of which company he was made 
secretary and director. He likewise became a 
stockholder in the State Savings Bank of Sioux 
City, of which he was the vice-president, the 
Sioux City Savings Bank, the ^N^ational and 
the Home Savings Banks. He was rated as 
one of the eight millionaires whose fortunes 
were made in Sioux City. He displayed ex- 
cellent business ability and sound judgment, 
carrying forward to successful completion 
whatever he undertook. He was distinctively a 
man of affairs and his efforts were directed into 
channels where keen foresight and enterprise 
led the way. He accomplished much when his 
record is viewed from a financial standpoint 
and he accomplished even more in the develop- 
ment of a character which made him a most 
respected and honored resident of his com- 
munity. Everything pertaining to the welfare 
of the city received his interested attention and 
ofttimes his active co-operation. In the fall 
of 186G he was elected prosecuting attorney 
and in 1871 he was chosen mayor of Sioux 
City, and in both positions discharged his 
duties in a most commendable, prompt and 
public-spirited manner. 

On the 9th of February, 1859, occurred the 
marriage of Mr. Davis and Miss Jane A. Put- 
nam, of Sioux City, who passed away in 1877. 
They were the parents of six children, of whom 
five are now living, namely: Stella, the wife 
of William Gordon; Mary, the wife of H. M. 
Bailey ; Florence, who married William C. 
Hutchins; George and Ross. 

On the 13th of October, 1881, Mr. Davis 
was again married, his second union being with 
Miss R. C. Smith, of Xantticket, ifassachu- 
setts. They had one son, John AJlen, who is 
now attending the Boston Polytechnic school, 
and his mother spends much of her time there 
while he is in school. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUliY COUNTY 



579 



One day, while crossing at Ninth and Jack- 
son streets, Samuel T. Davis was struck by an 
electric car and died about an hour later. He 
had largely lost his hearing and was therefore 
not aware of the apjiroaching car, his atten- 
tion being held by a game of ball which was 
in progress in the neighborhood. Sioux City 
thereby lost one of its most pi-ominent, influen- 
tial and honored residents. He was respected 
and esteemed by all not only because of the 
splendid success which he had achieved, mak- 
ing him one of the millionaires of northwest- 
ern Iowa, but also because of the honorable, 
straightforward policy he had ever foUoAved. 
He came to the west with little capital save the 
qualities with which nature had endowed him, 
his strong intellect and marked enterprise, and 
he directed his efforts along lines that proved 
of material benefit to his city as well as a 
source of ffratifvinir income to himself. 



WILLIAM CONKLTN. 

William Conklin resides on a farm near Cor- 
rectionville, where he has made his home since 
1871. It is located on section 28, Union town- 
ship, and in its appearance indicates the sujier- 
vision of a careful and painstaking owner. 
Mr. Conklin is a native of Ohio, his birth 
having occurred in Kichland county, Decem- 
ber 29, 1821. He is a son of Cornelius Conk- 
lin, whose birth occurred in Cayuga coimty, 
New York. His paternal grandfather was 
John C'onklin, also a native of the Empire 
John Conklin, also a native of the Empire state, 
state. He removed to Ohio about 1814, estab- 
lishing his home in Richland county among its 
pioneer settlers. There Cornelius Conklin was 
reared to manhood amid the wild scenes of 
pioneer life and early became familiar witii 
the arduous task of developing a new farm. 
After attaining to years of maturity he married 
Miss Mary Austin, a daughter of Captain Will- 
iam Austin, an old sailor, who for over twenty 
years was Tipon the ocean as commander of a 



ship. In 1809 he removed to Ohio, taking 
up his abode in Erie county and f:;(<Tit Rich- 
land coimty Cornelius Conklin removed to Erie 
county about 1828. 

It was in the latter county that Willi.iiTi 
Conklin spent the days of his boyhood and 
youth upon the home farm. His educational 
privileges were quite limited because there 
were few schools in that now timlier country. 
His knowledge has been largely self-acquired 
since he attained to manhood, experience, ob- 
servation and reading gradiially broadening his 
mind and adding to his information. When 
a young man he went to Indiana and on the 
9th of Feliruary, 1844, he was married in De- 
Kalb, that state, to Miss Deborah Monroe. 
After his marriage he engaged in farming in 
DcKalb county for seven yeai's and then re- 
turned to Ohio in 1851. During the succeed- 
ing nine years ho was connected with agricul- 
tural interests in the Buckeye state and then 
again went to DeKalb county, Indiana, where 
he lost his wife in 1862. In 1864 he was 
married again, his second union being with 
Juda L. Cramer, a native of Pennsylvania. 

After his second marriage !Mr. Conklin once 
more resumed farming in Indiana, but in 1868 
came to Iowa, settling in Marshall county, 
where he spent two years. In 1871 he came 
to Woodbury county and located on the land 
where he now resides, having previously traded 
for this property. He began here with one 
hundred and twenty acres of new land hitherto 
untouched by the plow, but he fenced it, placed 
the fields under cultivation and, in fact, opened 
up an excellent fanu. He saw hard times 
and it was with difficulty that he provided for 
his family for several years, but his persever- 
ance and energy at length overcame all ob- 
stacles and in due course of time he was en- 
abled to erect a neat and siibstantial residence 
and good farm buildings. He also planted 
fruit, shade and ornamental trees and has done 
much to improve the appearance of his place, 
which is now a very desirable farm property. 



580 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



Unto Mr. Conklin by his first marriage there 
were born two children who are jet living, 
Austin N., now of Idaho, and C. H., of Cor- 
reetionville. Bj the second marriage there are 
five children: Lois J., the wife of Walter 
Cockburn, of Correction ville ; J. F., a farmer 
of Union township: Elsie, the wife of Levi 
Waller, of Union township ; Minnie, the wife 
of V. E. Dewey, a farmer of Woodbury conn- 
try ; and I. H., who is upon the home farm. 

Both Mr. and ilrs. Conklin are members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he 
has been a class leader for fifteen years. He is 
quite prominent and influential in local polit- 
ical circles and votes with the Republican par- 
ty. He was originally an old line Whig, but 
supported John C. Fremont in 1S56 and has 
since deposited his ballot for each presidential 
candidate of the Eepublican party. He was 
elected and served as township clerk and for 
fourteen consecutive years filled the ofiice of 
justice of the peace, at the end of which time 
he declined to serve longer. While filling that 
position he performed many marriage cere- 
monies and also conducted many litigated in- 
terests and his decisions were ever fair and 
impartial, based upon his knowledge of the 
law and of equity. In his business career he 
has gained that success which is the jiist re- 
ward of persistency of purpose and of strenii- 
ous labor. He had no capital when he started 
out in life for himself and to-day he is one 
of the prosperous farmers of Union township, 
whose life record should serve as a sotirce of 
inspiration and encouragement to others. 



FEED BEXEDIX. 



Fred Benedix, a substantial farmer, whose 
enterprising and progressive business methods 
have resulted in the acquirement of a valuable 
property comprising four hundred and eighty 
acres of Iowa's rich land situated on section 
26, Rutland to^vnship, and also a farm of a 



quarter section elsewhere in the county, was 
born in Germany, his birthplace being Meck- 
lenburg, and his natal day April 23, IS-ti. 
He is a son of Frederick G. Benedix, a na- 
tive of Germany, also born in Mecklenburg. 
There the father was reared and married. He 
emigrated to the new world in 1S52 and made 
his way direct to Scott county, Iowa, where 
he located on a farm and reared his family. 
Subsequently he took uj) his abode in Eock 
Island county, Hlinois, where he spent his last 
years. 

Fred Benedix was reared in Scott county, 
Iowa, and received good public-school advan- 
tages. He early became familiar with the du- 
ties and labors of the farm and to his father 
gave the benefit of his services throughoiit the 
period of his minority. He went with him to 
Illinois and assisted in the cultivation of his 
father's fami in Eock Island county. He was 
married there on the 26th of October, ISTl, to 
Miss Christina Jensen, a native of Germany, 
born of Danish parentage, but reared in the 
fatherland. She was married the same year 
in which she crossed the Atlantic. 

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Benedix 
removed to Iowa, settled in Pottawattamie 
county, where he rented a farm for one year. 
He then purchased a tract of raw land and 
opened up a farm of eighty acres, to which 
he afterwarded added forty acres. There he 
carried on general agricultural pursuits for 
about nine years, on the expiration of which 
period he sold his property and came to Wood- 
bury cotmty. Here he bought four hundred 
and eighty acres of land, which was then wild 
and uncultivated, but he at once began its de- 
velopment and improvement and in the course 
of time his labors wrought a great transforma- 
tion in its appearance, while the improvements 
which he placed thereon added to its value and 
its productiveness. He first built a small house, 
but after a number of years this was replaced 
by the present commodious and attractive home. 
He also built a large barn and other buildings 




FEED BEXEDIX AXD FAMILY. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



583 



necessary for the shelter of grain and stock and, 
in fact, added all modern equipments to his 
place. He planted a grove, also set out many 
fruit trees and now has an excellent bearing 
orchard. In fact, this is one of the model farms 
of the twentieth centiiry, and as neatness and 
thrift characterize every department of the 
work, the place is an indication of the enter- 
prising and progressive spirit of the owner. 
Upon his second farm, comprising one hundred 
and sixty acres, Mr. Benedix also has a good 
set of farm buildings, including a new house. 
He commenced life without a dollar and though 
empty-liandod at the time of his marriage he 
has, through his own efforts and the assistance 
of his estimable wife, gradually worked his way 
upward and is to-day the o^\^^er of six hundred 
and forty acres of rich and valuable land. 

Mr. and Mrs. Benedix are the parents of ten 
children: IMary, now the wife of Ferdinand 
Goettsch, a farmer of Cedar county, Iowa; 
Lena, the wife of W. H. Hinkhouse, a resident 
farmer of Union township, who is represented 
elsewhere in this volume ; Dora, the wife of 
William Flemma, a farmer of Kutland town- 
ship; Christina, the wife iif Edward Alanii, i;)f 
Calumet, Iowa; Fred W., who resides upon his 
father's second farm in Rutland township ; Ida, 
the wife of Charles kScidcl, of Rutland town- 
ship ; Henry, who assists in the operation of 
the home farm; Otilla and Elsie, at home, and 
Hermena, who died at the age of eleven years. 
]\Ir. Benedix is a Democrat where national 
questions are under consideration, but at local 
elections where no issue is involved he votes 
independently. Both he and his wife were 
reared in the Lutheran faith and are members 
of that church. He has resided in Iowa during 
the greater j^art of his life and for many years 
has been identified with its upbuilding, its de- 
velopment and prosjierity and in Woodbury 
county, where the entire period of his married 
life has been passed, he has made for himself 
a very handsome competence and an honored 
name. 



FRED J. SULZBACH. 

Many a lesson might be gleaned from the 
experience of Fred J. Sulzbach by the younger 
generation, and none more vital than this — 
tliat absolute honesty is the essential corner- 
stone of character, on which the entire super- 
structure must depend. Persistence and cour- 
age in the face of difficulties, also, are neces- 
sary factors to success, and energy and deter- 
mination must lend their aid. Such a purpose 
has actuated Mr. Sulzbach in his life work. 

One of Iowa's native sons, he was born in 
Fort Dodge, November 27, 1869. His father, 
Joseph Sulzbach, is a native of Germany and 
in the year 1851 he came to the United States, 
locating at Galena, Illinois. He had previous- 
ly learned the trade of a stone-mason and for 
many years he was foreman of the stone work 
in connection with the construction of bridges 
for the Illinois Central Railroad. While liv- 
ing in Galena he also engaged in contracting 
and building and in 1880 he came to Sioux 
City, Iowa, where he continued in the same 
line of business imtil 1889, when he retired 
from that field of labor. His efforts contrib- 
uted in large measure to the material improve- 
ment of the city. In 1882 he built the lin- 
seed oil works and he also took and executed 
the contracts for the Gilman block on Fourth 
street, the Martens block, the Schulein and 
Bruen blocks on Fourth street, the Sanborn & 
Follett wholesale building on Douglas street, 
the Groninger building, the old police station 
on Fifth street, the soap works for Haskins 
Brothers and numerous other buildings. He 
is now living at the age of seventy-five years, 
enjoying a well merited rest. He gives his 
political support to the Democracy and he is 
a member of the German Lutheran church. 
His wife, who bore tlic maiden name of Caro- 
line Wegener was born in Germany and died 
in 1893 at the age of fifty-five years. She 
came to America about the same time Mr. 
Sulzbach crossed the x\tlantic and they were 
married in this countrv. The following ehil- 



584 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



dren were born imto tlieiu: Julia, now de- 
ceased ; Katherine, the wife of William Muel- 
ler, who is a cement contractor at Fort Dodge, 
Iowa; Caroline, the wife of Rev. G. W. Bul- 
linger, a minister of the German Lutheran 
church at Canton, Kansas; Pauline, the wife 
of Charles Ahrens, a mason of Sionx City ; 
Fred J. ; and Henry L., who is a mason of 
Sioux City. There is also a step-sister, Freda 
Wesser. 

Fred J. Sulzbach was a lad of only about 
eleven years when his j^arents removed to Sioux 
City and here he continued his education in the 
public schools and in a business college. He 
afterward learned the mason's trade under the 
direction of his father and when he had served 
a four years' apprenticeship he began contract- 
ing on his own account in 1889 and has since 
carried on the business. His first contract was 
the Wales Hotel at the corner of Tenth and 
Pearl streets. He afterward erected two build- 
ings for A. Groninger, the addition to Has- 
kins Brothers' Soajj factory, and large number 
of other buildings. He also did the brick 
work of the suction mains of the water works, 
erected a large building at Doon, Iowa, built 
the Warren block in 1892, the Mulhall bank 
and hotel building and the postoffice and store 
building at Rock Valley, Iowa, fine structures 
costing thousands of dollars. He is now build- 
ing the brick sewer called the West Ninth and 
West Fourteenth street sewer, which Avill cost 
the city about thirteen thousand dollars ; also 
building a store building in Hawarden, Iowa, 
and in 1899 he erected a handsome brick resi- 
dence at No. 611 Main street, which he and his 
family now occupy. The secret of his success 
lies in excellent workmanship, trustworthy 
business methods, fidelity to the terms of a con- 
tract and promptness in execution. 

Mr. Sulzbach M-as married in 1894 to ]\Iiss 
Anna Holdenricd, a daughter of .Tohii and 
Minnie (Shumacher) Holdenricd. Slio was 
born in Sioux City in 1872 and her father was 
well known as a hotel projn'ietor here. Five 



children grace this marriage: Louise, John, 
Fred, Helen and Frances. The parents are 
members of the German Lutheran church 
and Mr. Sulzbach belongs to the Contractors' 
Association, while in his jjolitical views he is 
a Democrat. He has found neither time nor 
inclination to turn aside fi-om his chosen field 
of labor to seek preferment or prominence in 
other directions, but has through the exercise 
of his ingenuity and skill made for himself an 
honorable name and place as a representative 
of the industrial interests of Woodbury county. 



EDWARD IT. CRANE, M. D. 

Dr. Edward H. Crane, nne of the more re- 
cent additiiins to the medical fraternity of 
Woodbury county, is siiccessfuily engaged in 
practice in ( '(irrectionville and is descended 
from one of the old families of the Isle of Man. 
His paternal great-grandfather, William Crane, 
was born on that isle and became a blacksmith 
by trade. He was a man of unusual proportions, 
standing seven feet tall and weighing about 
three himdred pounds, while his strength was 
proportionately great. It is evident that his 
descendants inherited their physical prowess 
from him. John Crane, the grandfather, was 
also lidi-u un the Isle of Man and served as a 
liody gTiard to the King of England when on 
his expedition in the Irish sea, his objective 
]ioint lieing the Cathedral of Man. While on 
that trip John Crane was taken ill and did 
He was the father of two children, Thomas 
and William, the former four years of age 
and the latter seven years old at the time of 
the father's death. Tlu> mother passed away 
about two years later and the children then 
went to live with an uncle, CIucus Farraglier, 
who was also born and reared on the Isle of 
]\lau. In IS.'iS "Mr. Farragher sailed for 
America, l)ringing with him the two children 
of his deceased sister. The vessel sailed up 
the gulf of Mexico and from New Orleans the 




DR. E. H. CRANE. 



PAST AXD PRES'ENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



587 



party proceeded up the Mississijipi river and 
near the ferryboat landing in the neighborhood 
of Monticello, Iowa, they secured a team of 
oxen, wherewith they proceeded to Jones coun- 
ty, where Mr. Farragher pre-emptied a tract 
of land from the government. He began the 
cultivation and development of the property 
aiul in the course of years became quite 
wealthy. 

Thomas Crane, father of Dr. Crane, re- 
mained with his uncle until about fourteen 
years of age, when he ran away from home 
and began driving a breaking team at a sal- 
ary of six dollars per month. He drove the 
team that broke the groimd upon which ^Tou- 
ticello now stands. He devoted his leisure 
hours in large measure to the study of veteri- 
nary surgery and became very proficient in the 
practice of his profession. At the age of nine- 
teen years he was married in Jones county, 
Iowa, to Miss Elizabeth Jones, who was born 
and reared in Kentucky and was a daughter of 
Enoch and Mary (Lightfoot) Jones, both of 
Avhom were natives of Kentiicky and were of 
Welsh and Irish descent. Mrs. Crane Avas 
educated in Jones county, Iowa, and is well 
known as a writer under the sobriquet of Aunt 
Betty. There were eight children born of this 
marriage, seven sons and one daughter, name- 
ly: Elmer E., Erank S., George H., William 
W., Jennie F., Charles E., Edward II. and 
Eudell S. Three of the sons are practicing 
physicians and two are veterinary surgeons. 
The family are remarkable for magnificent 
pliysiqiies and great strength. The Doctor's 
father is six feet and two inches in height and 
the average height of his sons is six feet. 

Edward H. Crane was born in Cedar coun- 
ty, Iowa, on the 18th of December, 1875, and 
his early education was acquired in a country 
schoolhouse, where the usual English branches 
were taught. He worked upon the home farm 
until seventeen years of age, when he began 
teaching school, and after following that profes- 
sion for little more than three vears he contin- 



ued his education, matriculating in the Iowa 
State JSTormal School at Cedar Ealls. There he 
became noted for his oratorical ability. After 
leaving that institution he passed an examina- 
tion which won him a state certificate and 
again he engaged in teaching school for one 
term, this time in Marshall county, Iowa. 
During that time, however, he decided to study 
medicine and in the fall of 1900 he entered the 
Iowa State University, where he completed a 
course in the medical department by gradua- 
tion in the spring of 1904. 

While in college Dr. Crane was considered 
one of the best athletes of the state, devoting 
much time to gymnasium work and he made 
the state record in the shot-pvit, using sixteen 
pound shot, the distance being thirty-nine feet 
and nine inches. He won the championship 
in the inter-collegiate meets in the shot-put on 
two different occasions. He was also class 
orator while in college. 

Dr. Crane came to Correctionville on the 
23d of June, 1904, opening an oifice and has 
already established a splendid practice for the 
length of time in which he has been connected 
with the medical fraternity of Woodbury coun- 
ty. He is a member of the Alpha Fidetus, a 
society of the Iowa State University, and he 
was reared in the faith of the Methodist church, 
but during his college course became a mem- 
ber of the Congregational church. 



GEOEGE B. TRAINEE. 

George B. Trainer, a representative of the 
building interests of Sioux City who through 
this avenue of activity has contributed in 
marked degree to the improvement and mate- 
rial develoj^ment of the city, having here erect- 
ed about one hundred houses, was born in Pike 
county, Missouri, in 1851. He is a son of A. 
F. and Hannah (McCrum) Trainer, natives of 
Virginia. The father, a tailor by trade, be- 
came a prominent resident of Missouri and 



588 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



serx'ed as county judge of Montgomery coun- 
ty for two terms, elected to that office on the 
Iic]ml)lic;in ticket. He took quite an active 
interest in political affairs, being well fitted 
by natural qualitications and ability for lead- 
ership in political circles. He removed from 
Missouri to Iowa and spent his last days in 
Wisconsin, where he died at the age of seven- 
ty-five years. In the family were seven chil- 
dren, bur only two are now living, Elizabeth 
and George i>. One bi'other, Edward, was 
killed at the? battle of Antietam, while William 
Trainer, a druggist, died in Middleton, Mis- 
soui'i. Another brother, Oscar, was killed by 
being throwii from a horse, and John died 
from the effects of injuries sustained in the 
Civil war. One child died in infancy and 
our subject is the youngest of the family. 

George B. Trainer was a student in the pub- 
lie schools of Montgomery City, Missouri, 
M'hile his parents resided there. He entered 
upon his business career as an employe on 
fence Avork for the Northern Missouri Railroad 
Company, whose line now forms a part of the 
Wabash system. When twenty years of age 
he began work at the carpenter's trade aud i-e- 
moved to Davenport, Iowa, since which time 
he has been a resident of this state. At the 
age of twenty-four he located in Poweshiek 
county, where he remained for eight years and 
in March, 1884, he came to Sioiix City, where 
he has since been identified with building ope- 
rations as a carpenter and contractor. He has 
built one hundred houses here and has also 
done considerable work in the southern part 
of the county and in South Dakota. He an- 
nually has a large number of important con- 
tracts and in his business is found to he re- 
liable and enterprising as well as energetic and 
resolute. 

On the 31st of October, 1876, occurred the 
marriage of Mr. Trainer and Miss ITattie 
Barnes, a daiighter of Benjamin Franklin 
Barnes, who was a native of New York. Their 
children are Warren, Nettie, Erederick and 



Lizzie. The eldest son married Miss Ada 
Nelson and has one child, George, while Fred- 
erick married Dessie Rock. Mr. Trainer is 
identified with the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen and he exercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the men and measures of 
the Republican party. He is a self-made man 
and in his business career has depended upon 
his own resources and labors for advancement, 
and whatever success he has achieved is the 
direct result of his energy and continued busi- 
ness activity. 



JOHN H. DREESZEN. 

John H. Dreeszen is now living a retired life 
in Correctionville and his rest is well merited 
as his labors covered twenty-one years of active 
connection with agricultural interests in Union 
tOAvnship. He still owns his home place of one 
hundred and sixty acres and he also has an- 
other farm of a quarter section in the same 
township. Since the 29th of May, 1865, he has 
been a resident of Iowa, belonging to that class 
of substantial citizens, who are ever found 
faithful to the best interests of their respective 
communities and who in Imsiness life are en- 
ergetic and reliable. 

Many men of this class in Iowa have come 
from the fatherland and J\Ir. Dreeszen is like- 
wise a native of Germany. His birth occurred 
in Holstein on the 19th of December, 1811, 
and in his boyhood days he mastered the 
branches of learning taught in the public 
schools there, but his knowledge of English has 
been acquired since coming to America. He 
remained a resident of Germany until 1865, 
when he resolved to test the truth of the favor- 
able reports which he had heard concerning the 
new world. He, therefore, took passage at 
Hamburg on a sailing vessel which was thirty- 
seven days at sea on that voyage and encoun- 
tered some very severe weather, but at length 
anchor was dropped in the harbor of New York 




ME. AXD MES. J. H. DEEESZEN. 



PAST AND riiliS'ENT OF WOUDBUKY COUNTY 



591 



and ill'. Dreeszen landed at Castle Garden on 
the ■22d day of May, 1805. He came west to 
Davenport, Iowa, and for a short time worked 
as a farm hand. Soon afterward he learned the 
mason's trade there and then removed to Wilton 
Junction, Muscatine county. There he fol- 
lowed his trade until 1SS3, in which year he 
removed to Woodbury eounty and purchased 
one hundred and sixty acres of raw land situ- 
ated about three and a half miles -west of Cor- 
rectionville. He took up his abode thereon, 
cleared the land, plowed the fields, planted his 
crops and in due time gathered good harvests. 
He first erected a small house and later replaced 
it by a commodious modern residence. He 
also built a large barn and other substantial 
outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. 
He planted fruit and shade trees and continued 
the work of improvement along modern lines. 
He also bought another farm of one hundred 
and sixty acres, but partially improved, and 
thereon he erected a new dwelling, barn and 
other buildings. He rents this farm. In the 
fall of l!tu;5 he purchased a lot and liuilt a resi- 
dence in Correctionville. He has since occu- 
pied this home and is now enjoying the fruits 
of his former toil while living retired from 
further business cares. He started out for him- 
self in Iowa a poor man and not only had no 
ca])ital but was in debt. His labor, enterprise 
ami diligence have been the materials with 
wliit'li he has builded his success. He has be- 
come the possessor of two valuable farms and a 
good home in the village and is now one of the 
most substantial citizens of Union townshii^ as 
well as one of its most respected. 

On the 8th of April, 1865, in Holstein, Ger- 
many, ]\rr. Dreeszen was united in marriage to 
Miss Magdalena Scheer, a native of Holstein. 
Their wedding joui'ney consisted of a voyage 
to America, on which they started the day fol- 
lowing their marriage. Seven sons were liorn 
of this union, but three died in childhood. The 
eldest Son, Otto, is a ear|ienter and joiner and 
is now married and resides in ( 'alitVirnia, where 



he is conducting a fruit ranch. He has five 
children: Hilda, Mabel, Phoebe, Mata and 
Max. Henry is a farmer of Plymouth county, 
Iowa, and owns and cultivates one hundred and 
sixty acres of land. He is married and has four 
children, Bryan, Archie, Fred and Bertis. 
Ferdinand, who is engaged in the operation of 
the second farm purchased by his father, is 
married and has one child, John Louis. Ku- 
dolph, the youngest son in the family, is upon 
the old homestead. 

Politically ]\Ir. Dreeszen is a Democrat, but 
not satisfied M-ith the attitude of the party on 
some questions or of the candidates which it 
has placed in the field he has not voted in the 
past few years. While living in Union town- 
ship he served for eleven years as district treas- 
urer and for one year as road supervisor. He 
ami his wife were reared in the Lutheran faith, 
are members of that church and all of their chil- 
dren are identified therewith. 



WILLIA]\[ XEWTON FORD. 

William Xcwton Ford, secretary of the Ford 
& Hollandsworth Company, dealers in lumber 
and l)uilding materials at Sioux City, was born 
in Chicago, Illinois, October 6, 1866. He 
came to Sioux City in April, 1888, to take 
charge of the lund.>er interests of J. H. Queal 
& Company, and occupied that jDosition for 
fourteen years or until he formed his present 
connection with G. H. Hollandsworth, who is 
now president of the company. The business 
was organized February 1, 1902, and succeeded 
G. H. Hollandsworth, who in turn had been 
the successor of the St. Croix Lumber Com- 
pany. Previous to that ownershiji the busi- 
ness had been the property of Sanborn & Fol- 
Ictt, its founders, who established the yard in 
1854, becoming the first hmiber dealers of 
SioTix City. Mr. Hollandsworth, the president 
of the company, is a resident of Chicago. 

:\rr. Ford was married September 28, 1893, 
to Frances Lincoln, a daughter of D. T\. T.in- 



592 



PAST AND PRESEXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



cola, of Fort Dodge, Iowa. They linvi- three 
children: Lticv Lincoln, Burton Lincoln and 
Frances Dwiglit. Mr. Ford is a member of 
the Masonic fraternity and also of the Odd 
Fellows society. 



CHAELES COOPER. 

Charles Cooper is a wvW known and worthy 
representatiye of the farming interests of Wood- 
bury county and resides on section 4, Rock 
township. Almost forty-fiye years hayc come 
and gone since he became a resident of Iowa. 
He was born in ]Morgan county, Ohio, ^lay 19, 
1838, and is a son of John Cooper, who was 
born in England, December -i, 1806, and in 
his boyhood days was brought to America by 
his father, Joseph Cook, who settled in Mor- 
gan county. There John Cooper was reared 
and after arriving at years of maturity he 
married Frances Petty, who was born in Pefu- 
sylyania, but spent her girlhood days in Ohio. 
She was a daughter of Edward Petty. After 
his marriage Mr. Cooper engaged in farming 
in Morgan county and there reared his fam- 
ily until 1859, when he came to Iowa, settling 
near Marion, Linn county, npon a farm. Sub- 
sequently he located in Woodbury county, where 
he spent his last years with his son Charles, 
of this review. In the family were nine chil- 
dren who reached mature years, while five a-e 
still living. 

Charles Cooper sjient the days of his boy- 
hood in the c<mnty of his nativity and was early 
trained in the work of the home farm. He 
attended the common schools and when a young 
man came to Iowa, joining his parents in 
Linn county. As a companion and helpmate 
for life's journey he chose ^Miss Sarah J. Liitz, 
who was born in Linn county and is a daugh- 
ter of Barnett Lutz, a native of Pennsylvania 
who was one of the first settlers of Linn c unity, 
establishing his home there in 1838. The m.ir 
riage of Mr. and Mrs. Cooper was celebrated 



OH the li'ih (if April, 1863, and he then ronted 
a farm in Linn county, where he carried on 
agricultural pursuits until 1888, when he came 
to Woodbury county. Here he invested his 
earnings in one hundred and sixty acres of 
land, wliicli he broke and fenced. He lived 
upon that ])lace for several years and during 
the last two years of his residence there he also 
operated another tract of one hundred and 
sixty acres. He expects soon, however, ti* put 
aside agricultural pursuits altogether and es- 
tablish his home in Cushing, where he will 
live a retired life. His has been an active .Tnd 
useful career, characterized by unflagging dili- 
gence and unfaltering perseverance and by rea- 
son of his earnest labor he has accumulated a 
handsome competence that will enable him to 
rest from further business cares throughout 
the evening of his life. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Cooper have been born six children : Frauk 
B., who owns and operates a farm on section 
9, Rock township ; William E., also a farmer 
of Woodbury county; Calvin, who is living on 
the home farm; S. J., who is married and 
carries on farming; Anna il., the wife of 
George Horn, of Ida Grove, Iowa ; and Maude 
I., of Washington, D. C. They also lost one 
son, Orin, who died at the age of eleven years. 
Mr. Cooper proudly cast his first presidential 
vote in 1864, stipporting Abraham Lincoln, and 
since that time he has been a stalwart Repub- 
lican but has never sought or desired office for 
himself. His wife is a member of the United 
Ijrefhren clnircli. They started out on their 
married life with no capital, but they have 
persistently and energetically labored to achieve 
a competence and while Mr. Cooper has ably 
managed the work of the fields his wife has 
carefully conducted the affairs of the house- 
hold and thus their united efforts have brought 
excellent resiilts. He has long been a wil- 
iiess of the growth and progress of the state, 
has seen its wild lands transformed into ex- 
cellent farms, has seen towns and villages 
s])ving up, has witnessed the introduction of 




MR. AND MRS'. CHARLES COOPER. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



595 



the railroad, the telegraph and the telephone, 
and has watched with interest the progress that 
has been carried constantly forward until 
Iowa to-day ranks with the leading states of 
the Union. 



ALBEET E. PEICE. 

Albert E. Price, living on section 4, Union 
township, has been a resident of Iowa since 
1865 and since 1867 has made his home in 
Woodbury county, where he is now engaged in 
general farming on a tract of land of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres. He was born in Sus- 
quehanna county, Pennsylvania, June 24, 
1846, and is a son of George Price, who was 
born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, July 5, 
1813. The paternal grandfather, William 
Price, was born in Rhode Island and became 
one of the pioneer settlers of the Keystone 
state. George Price was reared in Pennsyl- 
vania and was married in Luzerne county on 
the 9th of October, 1842, to Miss Caroline 
Newberry, whose birth occurred in Pennsyl- 
vania October 29, 1820. Her father, George 
Newberry, was a native of Connecticut and 
was there reared and married. Mr. and Mrs. 
George Price began their domestic life in Sus- 
quehanna county, where he engaged in farm- 
ing for a number of years. He then sought a 
home in the west, taking up his abode in White- 
side county, Illinois, in 1853. He made his 
home near Morrison for about two years and 
then removed to Wisconsin, locating in Jack- 
son county near La Crosse, where he developed 
a farm, making his home thereon for about 
ten years. On the expiration of that period 
he sold out and came to Iowa, locating near 
Clear Lake, where he carried on general agri- 
cultural pursuits for two years and on the ex- 
piration of that period located upon his jDres- 
ent farm, on which he built a log house. He 
resided there in pioneer style for several years, 
meanwhile devoting his energies to the improve- 



ment and development of his land. He jilanted 
maple seeds and later also set out a grove of 
trees. He likewise planted an orchard and 
small fruits and continued the work of culti- 
vation and improvement year after year until 
his labors resulted in making a great trans- 
formation in his farm. He continued to re- 
side thereon until his death, which occurred 
in 1874. His wife, who still survives him, 
yet resides on the old homestead with her son, 
Albert E. Although an invalid for eight 
years, aljle to go about only in a wheeled chair, 
she is yet of a cheerful disposition and has 
many warm friends through the neighborhood. 
In early life she joined the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, of which her parents were also 
members, and she has been a faithful follower 
of its teachings down to the present and is now 
eighty-four years of age. 

Albert E. Price was reared on the old home- 
stead and is one of a family of four children. 
The eldest, Charles, was a soldier of the Civil 
war, serving for three years or until the ces- 
sation of hostilities. He now resides in Kings- 
ley, Iowa, and carries on a blacksmith and 
wagon shop; Albert E. is the second of the 
family; Helen M. is the wife of Alexander 
Church, of Washington; and Mary is the wife 
of Alonzo Crother, of Oto, Iowa. 

In his youth Albert E. Price received good 
common-school advantages and was early 
trained to habits of industry, economy and per- 
severance on the old home farm. He enlisted 
in Wisconsin in 1864 in response to his coun- 
ti-y's call for aid, being at that time but eight- 
een years of age. He joined the Fourth Wis- 
consin Cavalry, went south to Louisiana and 
was engaged in guard and scout duty. There 
he was taken ill, was in the hospital for some 
time and later was sent home on a furlough, 
where he remained until the close of the war. 
He was then honorably discharged at New Or- 
leans. 

After recuperating his health Mr. Price went 
to work upon the home farm and in 1867 he 



596 



PAST AXD TKESEXT OK Wool )I!l' HY COINTY 



rcmovcMl to \V<iii(lliurv cuiintv wiili his father 
and assisted in tiie <h'\'eliiiMiu'iil of tiie nld 
iiomestead, whiTeun he has since resitk'il. 
Frontiei" conditions existed at that time and 
the fiioneer had to meet many of the hardshijis 
and trials of frontier life. ^Ir. Price aided 
materially in the arduous task nf deveidpiug 
the wild land and transforming it into |)ini|ue- 
tive fields and as the years have gone hy he 
has continued the \\url< of improvement and 
development. In I'JOl he erected a neat resi- 
dence and also built two good barns. He has 
all the sheds and oittbuildings necessary for 
the shelter of grain and stock and the farm is 
very neat and thrifty in appearance. He is 
recognized as one of the substantial farmers 
and stock-raisers of his township and is a man 
of exemplary character and worth, highly es- 
teemed throughout the county. 

Politically ilr. Price is a stanch Kepiibliean 
and cast his lii'st liallol for .Vliraliam Liiieohi 
in ISOi, while his last ju'esideutial vote was 
given to William ]\IcKinley. He was elected 
and served for a number of y(>ars as supervisoi', 
but whether in office or out of it lie has always 
been loyal to the best interests of his com- 
munity and has been an advocate of many 
progressive measures. He is a man of integ- 
rity and worth, enjoying the high esteem of a 
large eirel(> of friends among whom he has long 
resided. 



JOII.X ATKIX. 



John Atkiii, who l)eeame a resident of Sioux 
City in 18G8 and for many years was con- 
nected with its industrial interests, was born 
in Cambridgeshire, England, October 4, 1830. 
His parents were ^fr. and Islrs. John Atkin, 
also natives of Enghiml, where they spent their 
entire lives. 

Jojui Atkin, wliose name introduces this rec- 
ord, acquired his education in the common 
schools of his native country, and after putting 



asiiK' his text-books was employed at various 
kinds of digging and exea\'ating. His time was 
llins ociMipied until 1S.")S, wiien, believing that 
he might have better business opiiortunities in 
.\in(riea, he crossed the Atlantic and settled 
at Kxansviile, Indiana, where he l)egan the 
business of building cisterns and doing other 
eenieiit Work. He followed that pursuit in In- 
diana foi- ten years, or until ISOS, when he 
came to Sionx ('ity. Here he entefe<l liie em- 
|)i(jy of ^Lr. Hedges, with whom he worked for 
a short lime and then began taking contracts of 
his own for the construction of cisterns. He 
built the tirst cistern of this place and he eon- 
tinned in business imtil 1872, when he disposed 
of his interests here and removed to Ui.xon 
county, jXebraska, where he ptirchased a farm. 
Tliere he engaged in general agricultural pur- 
suits for four years, or up to the time of his 
death, which oeetirred A]n-il 21, ISTli. 

.Ml', .\tkin was married in England to iliss 
Mary ,V. ^lole, who was born in Cambridge 
Xovember 8, 1836, a daughter of John Mole, 
who resided in England throughout his entire 
life. Her stepfather was William Sutton, who 
was a shej)herd, and died in Evansville, In- 
diana. There were eight children born unto 
Mr. aiul ^Irs. Atkin: Sarah A. died in child- 
hood, in Evansville. Indiana ; Rebecca is the 
wife of Jacob Berger, who follows farming 
near Potosia, Iowa, and they have seven chil- 
dren : George, Sadie, Mabel, deceased, Wil- 
liam, Catherine, Lillie and Walter. Sarah J. 
i)eeaine the wife of John Hobbs and now resides 
with her mother in Sioirx City. She has three 
children : John, Ethel and Zoe. Lilly is the 
wife of William S. Beagley, a cigar packer, 
residing at No. 314 West Fourth street in this 
city. Elizabeth is the wife of A. G. Slade, an 
undertaker of Chicago, and her children are 
Millicent, Blanche, Lawrence, Victor, deceased, 
!ind Ceroid .\tkin, deceased. Joseph married 
Lou .\bbot and is now connected with the New 
Grand of Sioux City. Thomas wedded Anna 
Gallagher and resides in Sioirx City. Lena be- 




JOHN ATKIX. 




MRS. JOHN ATKIN. 



PAST AND PKP:sENT OF WOODlUliY COUNTY 



601 



came the wife of W. H. Harper, an electrician 
of this ^ity, and they have one chihl, Mihlred, 
born April 5, 1901. ]\Ir. and ^Mrs. Harper 
make their home with Mrs. .\tkin. 

In his political affiliation Mr. Atkin was in- 
dependent, supporting the candidate rather 
than party. He was well known in Sioux City, 
where he had many friends, and his reliability 
iu business, as well as the many good qualities 
which he disjjlayed in i^rivate life, won for him 
the confidence and good will of all with wlmm 
he was associated. After his death Mrs. Atkin 
resided upon the farm in N^ebraska for a year 
and a half, and then returned to Siou.x City, 
purchasing her present home at Xo. 316 West 
Fourth street, where she and her children are 
now living. They are all members of the Epis- 
copal church here and they have a wide and 
favorable acquaintance in Sioux City. 



JAMES U. COBB. 



James U. Cobb, a thrifty, practical and pro- 
gressive farmer of Union township, residing on 
section 35, where he is engaged in general agri- 
cultural pursuits and in the breeding of pure 
blooded shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey 
hogs, was born in Pennsylvania on the 14th 
of October, 1852. His father, Luman Cobb, 
was born in Genesee county, New York, whence 
he removed to Pennsylvania. He was married 
in the Empire state to Cordelia Francis, also 
a native of Genesee county, 'New York. After 
their marriage they removed to Grant county, 
Wisconsin, whei-e they resided until 1861. 
Mr. Cobb enlisted there in the Thirty-third 
Wisconsin Infantry, as a member of Company 
D, and served for three years or until the close 
of the war, -wlien ho was hdnnralily discharged. 
He afterward sold his farm in the east and 
subsequently removed to Iowa, settling in Cor- 
rectionville, where he is now living retired. 

James W. Cobb spent the days of his boy- 
hood and youth in his parents' home and ob- 



tained good school privileges, attending the 
common schools and afterward the Plattville 
Xormal. He was married in Grant county, 
Wisconsin, February 28, 1875, to ]\liss Amy 
Luella Hull, who was born and reared in that 
county, spending her girlhood days upon the 
farm where her marriage was celebrated. 
They lived for three years in Wisconsin and 
in 1878 removed to Kansas, settling in Har- 
vey coimty, where Mr. Cobb purchased one 
hnndrcil and sixty aci'cs of land. There he 
carried ou farming for five years, after which 
he sold that property and came to Woodbury 
county. Here he boTight one hundred and 
twenty acres of land in Union township and 
later added to this tract imtil he had three hun- 
dred and sixty acres. He erected a good house 
and barn and continued to carry on general 
agricultural pursuits there until 1902, when 
he traded that property for his present farm 
adjoining the corporation limits of Correction- 
ville. Here he has one hundred and forty-four 
acres of rich and arable land, upon which is 
a large, two-stor^' residence, a substantial barn 
and, in fact, all modern equipments and ac- 
cessories. He also owns two houses and lots 
in the town. In addition to the cultivation of 
the fields he is engaged in the raising of pure 
blooded shorthorn cattle and Dnroc Jersey 
hogs, and is to-day numbered among the sub- 
stantial and prosperous residents of the to^v^l- 
ship. He is a man of strong force of char- 
acter, possessing keen business ability and 
marked enterprise and his prosperity is due 
to his own well directed labors and the as- 
sistance of his estimable wife. 

Unto IMr. and ^Irs. Cobb have been born 
thirteen children : Xora, deceased ; Edward, 
at home; Byron and Clyde, who are in the 
state of Washington ; Hilary, the wife of Arthur 
Lampman, of Ida county: Cordelia, the wife 
of Luther Bailey, of Woodbury coimty; Pos- 
wcll, James, ATarcin, Fielding, Susie, Forest 
and Valerie, all at home. The parents are 
members of the ^fethodist Episcojial church 



602 



TAST AXD PEESENT OF WOODBUP.Y COUNTY 



and iu politics Mr. Cobb is an earnest Kepub- 
lican, uufaltei'iug iu his allegiance to the party 
and its principles. He has been a resident of 
Woodbury county for twenty years and during 
this period has inqjroved and developed two 
excellent farms. He has never sought to iigaire 
in any light before the public aside from his 
business interests, but therein he has demon- 
strated his powers, showing marked enterprise 
and sound business judgnnent. 



D. W. COXXOLE. 



In reviewing the history of D. W. Connole 
one is reminded of the words of a great New 
York financier. "If you're not a success don't 
blame the time you live in, don't blame the 
place joii occupy, don't blame the circum- 
stances you're surrounded with — ^lay the blame 
where it belongs — to yourself. Xot in time, 
place or circimistance, but in the man, lies suc- 
cess. If you want success you must pay the 
price." Mr. Connole, with full understanding 
of this fact, has done his best to gain success 
by his own efforts and by indefatigable energy, 
perseverance and well applied business prin- 
ciples has won the victory which he started 
out to win years ago. He is now extensively 
engaged in the loan and banking business in 
Anthon and to tliis undertaking has directed 
his energies for the past fifteen years. 

Mr. Connole is a native of Jones county, 
Iowa, and a son of Daniel Connole, whose birth 
occurred in County Clare, Ireland, in 1815. 
When a young man of sixteen years his father 
crossel the Atlantic from the Emerald Isle to 
Boston, Massachusetts, and subsequently he 
came to Iowa, casting in his lot amoug the 
pioneer settlers of Jones county. In 1849, 
attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pa- 
cific coast, he made his way to California, 
where he spent five years in mining, meeting 
with fair success. On the expiration of that 
period he returned to Jones county, Iowa, ar- 



riving there in 185-i. He was married there 
to Bridget Quinlivan, an Irish lady, who was 
born in County Clare. Mr. Connole was a 
prominent farmer of Jones county, where he 
resided continuously from 1S.")1: until 1897. 
He was then called to his final rest at the 
age of eighty-two, and died full of years and 
honors, for he was one of the most respected 
and worthy citizens of his community. His 
wife i^assed away in 1879. In their family 
were three children, of wIkhu D. W. Connole 
is the second in order of birth. The others 
are Catherine, the wife of P. il. Sullivan, a 
prominent farmer of Kedron township, Wood- 
bury county; and J. D., a resident of Anthon. 
Upon the home farm D. W. Connole was 
reared to manhood, and when he had mastered 
the branches of learning taught iu the public 
schools he attended the ilonticello high school. 
Later he engaged in teaching for a few winter 
terms and after arriving at man's estate he 
turned his attention to merchandising, which 
he followed in Cascade, Iowa, for four or five 
years. In 188.) he returned to Montana and 
at BiUte was engaged in mining and also in 
the conduct of a brickyard. His activity in 
business there and his well managed interests 
brought to his success during the three years 
of his residence in the northwest. Returning 
then to Iowa he located in Sioux City, where 
he engaged in the loan business, making loans 
on farm lands in Iowa ami Xebraska. He also 
engaged in buying and selling jiroperty in 
Woodbury county and has been active and suc- 
cessful in this business continuously since. In 
1902 he established the Citizens' State Bank 
with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dol- 
lars and he is now the principal stockholder. 
In 1903 he built his present fine bank building 
which is well equipjied for the purpose used. 
He also built iu the same block a large two- 
story business house, containing two stores on 
the first floor with ofiices above. This was 
erected nt a cost of thirty thousand dollars 
and is the finest Inisiness block in the attractive 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUATY 



603 



little town of Authon. Mr. Coimole has thus 
aided materially in the upbuilding and im- 
provement of the town and his eflforts in its 
behalf have been far-reaching and beneficial. 
In addition to his biisiness interests here he 
owns large mining and ranching interests and 
other property in Montana and he makes an 
annual trip to Butte to superintend his invest- 
ments in that part of the country. 

Politically Mr. Connole is a Jacksonian 
Democrat, giving firm allegiance to the party. 
He was reared in the Catholic faith and is a 
member of the Catholic church. He is well 
known not only in the village in which he 
makes his home, but also in Sioux City and 
throughout Woodbury county. Starting out 
in life with few educational and pecuniary ad- 
vantages he became imbued with a laudable 
ambition to attain something better and has 
steadily advanced in those walks of life de- 
manding intellectuality, business ability and 
fidelity, and to-day he commands the respect 
and esteem not only of his immediate com- 
munity but of the entire county. His record 
should prove a source of inspiration to many 
a young man on starting out in life as he did 
a few years ago with no capital save brains, 
integrity, determination and perseverance — 
which, after all constitute the best capital, and 
without which wealth, influence and position 
amount to uaucht. 



GUSTAV AXDERSOK 

Gustav Anderson, who is at the head of the 
wall paper, painting and decorating establish- 
ment of vVnderson & Abel — the leading enter- 
prise of the kind in Sioux City — was born in 
Sweden in 1861, his parents being Gtistav and 
Caroline (Janson) Anderson. The father 
spent his entire life in Sweden, where he car- 
ried on business as a contractor. He served 
in the Swedish army and was a memlier of 
the Swedish Luthenni ehureh. His wife, also 



a native of Sweden, is now living in Sioux 
City, at the age of sixty-three years, having 
come to the United States in 18il5. She also 
belongs to the Swedish Lutheran chui-ch. By 
her marriage she became the mother of seven 
children, four of whom are now living: Carl, 
a jeweler of Sioux City; ^Vxel A., who went 
to Alaska six years ago and located some claims 
which have proven very profitable ; Ida, the 
wife of Jonas Olson, a manufacturing jeweler 
of Sioux City; and Gustav. 

The last named was a sttideut in the public 
schools of his native country and also attended 
a business college there. At the age of eight- 
een he became interested in the wall paper busi- 
ness in Sweden, continuing in that line for three 
years. He then came to the United States in 
Jtily, 1881, and located first at Blair, ISTebras- 
ka, where he dealt in wall paper until 1885. 
In the fall of that year he came to Sioux City 
and entered into partnership with Andrew 
Almskog, under the firm name of Almskog 
& Anderson. This partnership was con- 
tinued for fourteen years, when 'Mv. An- 
derson, upon the death of Mr. Almskog, pur- 
chased his interest. He divided the business 
and selling a half interest in the retail de- 
jiartment to Mr. Abel, it is conducted under 
the name of Anderson & Abel, but Mr. Ander- 
son is sole owmer of the wholesale business, 
conducted under the old firm name of Alm- 
skog & Anderson, the stock being on the sec- 
ond floor of Plymouth block, at the corner of 
Fourth and Court streets. The retail busi- 
ness is at Oil Fifth street, where is carried a 
large line of wall paper, moldings and pajjer 
hangers' supplies, painters' stipplies, artists 
materials, picture frames and moldings, and 
they also do decorating and take contracts for 
l^ainting. This is the largest concern of the 
kind in Sioux City and the two houses repre- 
sent an investment of fifty thousand dollars. 

^Ir. Anderson was married in 1901 to Chris- 
tine Nilson, a daughter of Peter Nilson, a coal 
dealer of Sioux Citv. She was born in 'Nor- 



604 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



way ill 1868 and they had oiio child, Irene Lil- 
lian, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson 
are members of the Swedish Lutheran church, 
and a constantly growing circle of friendship 
indicates the position which they hold in the 
regard of those who know them. Fraternally 
he is connected with the Odd Fellows, the| 
Sveuska ]\Ionitoren, the Freidhein Society — a 
chnrch organization — and the Commei'cial 
Chih, while his political support is given the 
Republican party. His has been pre-eminently 
a business career, his time and energies being 
devoted to the development of his commercial 
interests, and yet he has never been neglectful 
of social or moral obligations or remiss in the 
duties of citizenship. 



JOHN WILLTA]\LS. 



Throughout his entire life John Williams has 
devoted his time and energies to agricultural 
pursuits and is now following general farming 
and stock-raising on section 8, Wolf Creek 
township. He was born in Montgomeryshire, 
England, on the 10th of April. 1846. His 
father, John Williams, Sr., is a native of Shrop- 
shire, England, where also occurred the bir'^h 
of Thomas Williams, the grandfather. John 
Williams, Sr., was reared in the place of his 
nativity and was married there to ]Miss Ann 
Farmer, a native of the same locality. They 
liecame the parents of ten children, throe sons 
and seven daughters, and the sons and five 
daughters are yet living. With the excej^tion 
of John Williams, of this review, all reside in 
England. II(> was reared to farm life in Mont- 
gomeryshire and in Shropshire and received 
common-school advantages in his youth. He 
continued to assist his father for a lunnlxT (if 
years after attaining his inajnrity and also 
worked as a farm laborer in the neighburhndd, 
but the business jwssibilities of the new world 
attracted him and bidding adieu to home and 
friends he sailed for America in 1887, landing 



at Xew York city. He made his way direct to 
Sioux City, Iowa, and through the two succeed- 
ing years was employed by the month upon the 
farm where he now resides. He then rented the 
place for three years and on the expiration of 
that i^eriod purchased the property. He has 
added to and repaired the house and he also has 
substantial outbuildings and many modern im- 
provements. His farming methods are pro- 
gressive and he has the strong determination 
and qualities of i^erseverance which enable 
him to carry forward to successful completion 
whatever he undertakes. Owing to his careful 
management and enterprise he has become the 
owner of a large and valuable farm, comprising 
three hundred and twenty acres on section 8, 
Wolf Creek to^vnship. 

In 1891 Mr. Williams returned to England 
to visit his parents and the scenes among which 
his boyhood days were passed. While in that 
country he was married on the 5th of March, 
1892, to Miss Eose H. Harrison, a native of 
England, and soon afterward they started for 
the new world. They began their domestic life 
upon the farm in Iowa which has since been 
their home and unto them have been born five 
childi-en : Bessie, Harry, Leslie, AYalter and 
Isabelle. 

Politically ^Ir. Williams is a Prohibitionist, 
and because of his strong temperance principles 
gives his support to the party which embodies 
his ideas upon this question. He has served 
as a member of the school board, but otherwise 
has held im public office, preferring to do his 
duty as a private citizen rather than as a jjublic 
official. He and his wife were reared in the 
faith of the Episcopal church and are now mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, which 
holds its meetings at schoolhouse No. 8. To 
the teachings of that denomination they are 
trill' and loyal, while in the church work they 
take an active and helpful part. In his busi- 
ness career [Mr. Williams has demonstrated the 
power of energy in Avinning success through 
the O])]iortunities which the new world affords 





MR. AND MES. JOHN WILLIAMS. 



PAST AND PEESTINT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



607 



in a business way. He is a leading and in- 
fluential fanner of Wolf Creek to^vnsllip, suc- 
cessfully engaged in the raising of high graded 
Hereford cattle as well as in the ijroduction of 
crops best adapted to soil and climate. With- 
out special advantages to aid him in his youth 
he came to America with no capital and, begin- 
ning life in Woodbury county aa a farm hand, 
he has steadily worked his way upward until 
he has attained high financial staudino;. 



E. W. EEB. 



E. W. Erb, numbered among the highly re- 
spected and progressive farmers of Woodbury 
county now making his home on section 10, 
Rutland township, is numbered among the na- 
tive sous of Ohio, his birth having occurred 
in Williams county, that state, on the 4th of 
February, 1854. His father, Jacob Erb, was 
born in Pennsylvania, and was of German lin- 
eage, and the mother, who bore the maiden 
name of Susanna Weaver, was also a native 
of the Keystone state. Removing to Ohio, 
Jacob Erb engaged in farming in Williams 
county and there reai'ed his family. Subse- 
quently he made his way to South Dakota, 
where he lived for eight or nine years and then 
came to Woodbury county, living a retired life 
in Pierson until he Avas called to his final rest 
on the 4th of March, 1902. His wife died at 
the same time and they were interred in the 
same grave. E. W. Ei-b is the second in order 
of birth of their nine children. The others are 
as follows: Ephraim Erb, the eldest, is de- 
ceased; Samuel is a resident of Woodbury 
county; William makes his home in Cedar 
county, Iowa ; Jacob is living in Michigan ; 
Anthony is in Cedar county ; Mary is the wife 
of Joseph Brown, of Michigan ; Amelia died at 
the age of nineteen years ; and Lucinda is the 
wife of Robert Brown, of Perry, Iowa. 

E. W. Erb spent the days of his boyhood and 
youth in the usual manner of farmer lads on 



the old homestead in Williams county, Ohio, 
and during the winter months attended the 
l^ublic schools, while in the summer seasons 
he worked on the farm. He was married there 
on the 25th of August, 1884, to iliss Mary 
Winter, who was horn in Defiance county, 
Ohio, and was there reared. Her father was 
Christopher Winter, a native of Germany. 
The year following their marriage Mr. and 
Mrs. Erb removed to Iowa, locating in Clin- 
ton county and Mr. Erb and his brother rented 
and cultivated a tract of land for five years. 
He then came to Woodbury county, where he 
again operated a rented farm for a year and 
then purchased another eighty-acre tract of 
land, upon which he now resides. Locating on 
this farm he at once began its further develop- 
ment and improvement, and he has since added 
to the place from time to time as his financial 
resources would permit and now has two him- 
dred and forty acres in one body. He has built 
a good barn and other structures for the shel- 
ter of grain and stock, has placed his fields 
under a high state of cultivation and has al- 
ways made a specialty of the raising of cattle 
and hogs. He annually feeds a carload of 
steers for the market. Fruit trees and shade 
trees upon his place were set out by him and the 
former are now in good bearing condition. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Erb has been 
blessed with two children, Emma and Elsie. 
The parents are members of the Christian 
church of Pierson, of which Mr. Erb is an 
officer. He votes with the Republican party, 
but has never desired political preferment as 
his business affairs make constant demands 
upon his energies and time. He has given his 
close attention to his business with the result 
that his strong determination and perseverance 
have proven an excellent foundation upon 
which to build his success, and although he 
started out in life empty-handed he now pos- 
sesses a farm which is valuable and well im- 
proved, indicating that the owner is a leading 
agriculturist of his community. 



608 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



SILAS IvLMM. 
Upon a farm on section 2, Kiitland town- 
ship, Silas Kimm resides and is there engaged 
in the cultivation of one hundred and thirty- 
two acres, which is his own property. He is 
numhercd among the early settlers of the state, 
having come to Iowa in 18(34, and since 1887 
he has resided continuously in Woodbury 
county. He was born in Oneida county, New 
York, October 25, 1857, and is a son of Henry 
Kiinm, a native of Germany, who remained 
through the period of his minority in the land 
of his nativity and then came to America, set- 
tling in Oneida county, ISTew Y^ork. There he 
carried on farming for a number of years and 
five of his children were born in that county. 
In 1864 he removed witli his family to Iowa, 
taking up his abode in Benton county, where 
he developed a good farm. He spent his last 
years there and was a well known and re- 
spected agriculturist of that community. 

Silas Kimm was reared in Benton county 
upon the old homestead and is largely a self- 
educated and self-made man, although to some 
extent he attended the common schools in his 
boyhood days. He removed to Ida county, 
Iowa, in early nuinhood and in Sac county he 
was married on the 28th of Octobei", 1885, to 
Miss Johanuah Warneke, a native of Germany, 
whose girlhood days were passed in Wi.sconsin. 
The young couple located in Odebolt, Iowa, 
where ]Mr. Ivimm was engaged in the grain 
business for two years. They then removed to 
a farm in Ida county, near Holstein, and after 
a year there passed Mr. Kimm purchased his 
present farm, comprising one hundred and 
thirty-two acres on section 2, Rutland town- 
ship, Woodbury county. He immediately be- 
iran the further development and improvement 
of this place, later erected a good house and 
planted maple, willow and cottonwood trees, 
so that he now has a fine grove upon his ])lace. 
He also set out an orchard and ]3lanted small 
fruit, has fenced his land and in connection 
with general farming has engaged in stock- 



raising. In l'JO:J !Mr. Kimm was called upon 
to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 
23d of October, of that year. They were the 
parents of eight children : Caroline, Henry 
D., Fred, Hannah and Anna, twins, Lura and 
Laura, twins, and Marie. Politically Mr. 
Kinnn is a stanch Democrat, but has never 
sought or desired <itiice, as his attention has 
been fully occupied by his business afi'airs. 
He and his family attend the Methodist Epis- 
copal church and are well known in Riitland 
township, where they have many warm friends. 



J. D. BELL. 



Almost a century and a half has passed since 
George Washington said that agriciilture is the 
most useful as well as the most honorable occu- 
pation to which man directs his energies and 
the truth of this sa^dng has been abundantly 
verified in the history of this country and 
stands to-day, as it did then, an un([uestioned 
fact. Mr. Bell, of this review, widely and fa- 
vorably known for his activity and integrity 
in business afi'airs, is engaged in general farm- 
ing on section 4, Rutland township, where he 
owns and oj)erates two hundred and forty acres 
of well improved and valuable land. 

He was born in Macon county, Illinois, Sep- 
tember 27, 1842. His father, Josiah Bell, 
\vas born in the city of Harrisburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1815, and the grandfather, Abraham 
Bell, was a native of Scotland, whence he emi- 
grated to America, becoming one of the early 
settlers of Pennsylvania. Josiah Bell was 
reared in the Keystone state and was married 
in Hiintingdon county, Pennsylvania, to Mary 
Doyle, who was br>rn in Pennsylvania and was 
of Welsh and Gernmn lineage. About 1835 
Mr. Bell came with his family to the middle 
west, settling in ^lacon county, Illinois, among 
its pioneer residents. There he opened up a 
farm of one hundred and sixty acres, upon 
which he reared his family. At the time of 




J. D. BELL AND FAMILY. 



PAST AND PEEbKNT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



611 



the Civil war he joined the boys in blue as a 
defcndeT" of the Union cause, enlisting in the 
Fifth Illinois Cavalry, with which he served 
until the close of the war. Being a saddler 
bv trade he was engaged to work in that way 
in the army and he also did service in the 
ranks. He died at the Soldiers' Home in 
Quincy, Illinois, in the 'SOs, having for a num- 
ber of years survived his wife, who passed away 
in 1S67. In their family were eleven chil- 
dren, ten of whom reached adult age. 

J. D. Bell, who was the third in order of 
birth, was in his boyhood days occTipied with 
the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of 
the playground and the work of the home farm. 
His youth was passed in IMacon cotmty, amid 
the wild scenes of frontier life, and he had to 
walk from two to four miles to school, going 
through the woods along a blazed road. He 
was a yotmg man of only eighteen years when he 
responded to the coixntry's call for aid, enlist- 
ing on the 21st of April, 1861, in response to 
President Lincoln's first call for troops. He 
joined Company A of the Twenty-first Hlinois 
Infantry, a regiment commanded by General 
Grant. He marched first from Springfield to 
Naples, Illinois, thence to Quincy and across 
the river there into Missouri. He was first 
under fire at the battle of Fredericktown, ilis- 
sotiri, and was engaged in the campaign against 
bushwhackers. He participated in the siege of 
Corinth, and the battles of Holly Springs and 
luka, and was transferred to the Army of the 
Cumberland and under command of General 
Buell went to Louisville, Kentucky. He was 
also in the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, in 
the engagements of Crab Orchard, Ifashville 
and Stone Kiver, Knob Gap, Liberty Gap, Pine 
Mountain, Kenesaw l\romitain, Jonesboro and 
Franklin, and was twice wounded. On one 
occasion he sustained a gunshot wound throvigh 
the knee and a piece of shell also stnick his 
heel, crippling him badly, as both wounds were 
in the same leg. He was held a prisoner for 
six days and was then re-capttired, after which 



he was taken to the hospital at K'ashville, and 
later to Cincinnati, where he remained for 
some time, for when he had recovered he served 
in the hospital as a steward. Later he rejoined 
his regiment at Stevenson, Alabama, and was 
in the battle of Chickamauga, where the regi- 
ment lost heavily, there being two hundred 
killed and wounded, while five hundred were 
taken prisoners. Mr. Bell was in the siege of 
Chattanooga and of ^Missionary Ridge, also 
went on the Atlanta campaign, during which 
he participated in some of the hardest fought 
battles of the war and then returned to j^ash- 
ville and drove out the forces under General 
Hood. There he served iintil the close of 
the war and veteranized at Ooltewah, Ten- 
nessee, after which he went to Huntsville, Ala- 
bama, in pursuit of General Hood and thence 
to Xorth Carolina, being in that state at the 
time of General Lee's stirrender. Again re- 
turning to jSTashville, he was then sent to ISTew 
Orleans and to Texas, whence he went to San 
Antonio and there he was mustered out and re- 
turned home, being honorably discharged at 
Springfield, Illinois. He had served for four 
years, nine months and five days in defense of 
the old flag and the Union cause, and made 
for himself a most creditable military record. 
He never faltered in the performance of any 
duty no matter where it led and he suffered all 
the hardships of war, but his loyalty remained 
unshaken and he displayed valor equal to many 
a veteran of twice his years. 

After the close of hostilities Mr. Bell re- 
turned to his home in Illinois, where he re- 
mained for a year. He then went to Lee cotm- 
t}', Illinois, where he was married on the 26th 
of February, 1868, to Miss Emma Van ISTors- 
del, a native of Pennsylvania, and a daughter 
of Isaac Van Xorsdel, who settled in Hlinois 
about 1862. After his marriage Mr. Bell 
worked at the carpenter's trade for a year and 
then began in the grain business, conducting 
an elevator for two years. Upon the expira- 
tion of that period he removed to Sterling, 



612 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



Whiteside county, Illinois, and was there en- 
gaged in the manufacture of farm implements 
and furniture for about nine years. In 1878 
he came to Iowa, settling first in Marshall 
county, where he operated a tract of rented land 
for four years. On the expiration of that 
period he came to Woodbury county, where he 
purchased two hundred and forty acres, upon 
which he is now living. His farm was then 
a tract of raw land, but he at once began to 
improve it and has continued the work of cul- 
tivation up to the present time. He arrived 
here in Febriiay, 1883, when the land was 
covered with snow and a big blizzard was rag- 
ing. He suffered many hardships and priva- 
tions of pioneer life while developing his farm, 
but after a few years the land became jiroduc- 
tive and yielded to him a good living. Ht 
planted a grove of maple trees and erected sub- 
stantial buildings upon his place. An orchard 
was also planted by him and he fenced the 
farm and in connection with his crops he en- 
gaged in the raising of graded stock, making 
a specialty of horses, cattle and bogs. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bell are the jjarents of nine 
children : Clarence, who is married and is a 
farmer of Plymouth county, Iowa ; Arthur, 
who is a farmer and resides in Woodbury coun- 
ty; Charles ]^., who is married and carries on 
agricultural pursuits in this county: Hattie 
Mary, the wife of Bert Whall, a farmer of the 
same county ; Alfred, who is carrying on the 
home property ; Frank ; Minnie ; Lester and 
Nellie. They also lost four children. Their 
first born, Ulysses, died at the age of nineteen 
years. Bosetta died at the age of eleven 
months. Florence died when twelve years of 
age. Stella died in infancy. 

Mr. Bell has been a life-long Bepublican 
casting his ballot for the presidential candidates 
of that party since voting for General Grant 
in 1868. The cause of education has found 
in him a warm friend and he has put forth 
effective and earnest effort in its behalf. He 
has been a member of the school board for a 



number of years and he has also served as 
commissioner of highways. He and his wife 
are members of the Dunkard or Brethren 
church, and while living in Illinois he belonged 
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 
His residence in Woodbury county covers al- 
ni()St a quarter of a century and he has won 
the favorable opinion of his fellow men by rea- 
son of his activity and reliability in business, 
and his loyalty in citizenship, which is equal 
today to that which he displayed upon south- 
ern battlefields during the period of the Civil 
war. 



MRS. MARY SCHLUPP. 

Mrs. Mary Schlupp, of Sioux City, was born 
in Mechlenburg, Germany, xAugust 21, 1830, 
a daughter of Christ and Christina (Barton) 
Oemig. In June, 1858, she became a resi- 
dent of Sioux City, making the journey from 
St. Louis to Omaha by boat and remaining in 
the latter place for a week. She then con- 
tinued on the trip by water and has since been 
a i-esident of Sioux City, being numbered among 
its most worthy pioneer ladies. 

In April, 1859, she gave her hand in mar- 
riage to John Schaible, who was a shoemaker 
by trade, having a shop on Pearl street be- 
tween Fourth and Fifth streets. He was born 
in Wurtend)erg, Germany, and died in Sioux 
City, Iowa, March, 1866. In April, 1867, 
Mrs. Schaible gave her hand in marriage to 
John Charles Schlupp, of Sioux City. He, 
too, was a shoemaker by trade and followed 
that pursuit for six years after their marriage. 
In 1873 he built the Washington House, which 
still stands on Pearl street between Fifth and 
Sixth streets, and was proprietor of this hotel 
up to the time of his death, which occurred 
August 1, 1882, when he was fifty-five years 
of age. He was a popular landlord, conducting 
a good hostelry and by his endeavor to please 
his ]iatrons and make the house a desirable place 



■ 


■■■ 


^H 


||/:?<^^^| 


H 




" 





J. C. SCHLUPP. 




MES. MARY SCHLITP. 



PAST AND J'KESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



G17 



of entertainment for the traveling public he 
won favor with those who gave to him their 
business supjjort. At the time of the Civil war 
he responded to the country's call for aid, en- 
listing on the 24th of September, 186-4, as a 
member of Comjjany G, Fifty-eighth Regiment 
of J^ew York Volunteers, with which he served 
until July 6, 1865, when the war having closed 
he was honorably discharged at Nashville, Ten- 
nessee. 

By her first marriage Mrs. Schlupp had five 
children, of whom three are now deceased. 
The othei's are: Emma, the wife of Henry 
Corrigan; and Louise, the wife of Mark Run- 
yan, of Sioux City. By the second marriage 
there were six children, of whom one has passed 
away. Rosa, the eldest, is the wife of F. L. 
Hagan, of Sioux City. Jennie, George, Ma- 
tilda and Mary are all at home with their 
mother and the family are members of the 
First Presbyterian church of Sioux City. They 
are well known here and their circle of friends 
is an extensive one. Mrs. Schlujip has resid- 
ed in Sioux City for forty-six years and has 
therefore been a witness of the greater part of 
its growth and development. 



PHILLIP WILLIAM MAXEIXER. 

Phillip William 3Iaxeiner, who for almost 
twenty years has been conducting the New En- 
gland Bakei'y of Sioux City, in which he has 
linilt up a large wholesale as well as retail trade, 
was liorn in Galena, Illinois, June 10, 18.55. 
His father, Phillip William Maxeiner, Sr., 
a native of Germany, came to America in 1845, 
settling in Galena, where he engaged in the 
merchant tailoring business. He is now living 
in Galena, at the age of eighty-one years. He 
married ]\Iiss Barliara Brendel, and they be- 
came the parents of thirteen children, of whom 
eight are yet living. 

Mr. Maxeiner. of this review, the second 
child and eldest son of the familv, attended the 



public schools of his native city and also the 
Lutheran College, in Avliich he was graduated 
with the class of 1872, when seventeen years 
of age. He then began learning the baker's 
trade in Galena, which he followed there until 
1878, when he removed to Colorado and was 
engaged in business at Leadville and at Den- 
ver. In the spring of 1885 he came to Sioux 
City and opened the New England Bakery, 
■\vhich he has since conducted, and has devel- 
oped a business that has reached paying pro- 
jiortions, both in the wholesale and retail de- 
partments. The excellence of his pi-oducts, his 
earnest desire to please his patrons and his re- 
liability have been the basic elements of his 
success, and have led to the dvclopment of a 
large trade. 

On the 16th of May, 1880, Mr. Maxeiner 
was married to Miss Theresa Thiele, at Lead- 
ville, Colorado, ]\Iiss Thiele traveling from her 
home at Galena, Illinois, to meet her husband. 
Her father, for many years engaged in cabinet- 
making in Galena, is now deceased. Six sons 
were born iinto Mr. and Mrs. Maxeiner, of 
whom three died in infancy. Phillip William, 
twenty-one years of age, is a coxswain on board 
the United States battleship Alabama, and has 
been in the service for four and a half years. 
Frank, nineteen years of age, is working in 
his father's bakery. Edmond, six years of age, 
com]iletes the family. 

In the scaring of 1904 Mr. Maxeiner was 
elected alderman from the fourth ward with a 
plurality of one hundred and forty-four over 
a normal Republican majority of one hundred 
and twenty. He is chairman of the police and 
railroads committees, and is a member of the 
committees on conduct and account of officers, 
judiciary, streets, alleys and bridges and spe- 
cial assessments. Lie has always been an 
earnest advocate of Democratic principles. He 
is president of the Germania Society, was for- 
merly president of the Sons of Herman, is 
past chancellor commander of Damon Lodge, 
No. 2, K. P., of Denver, Colorado, and belongs 



618 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WooDlUKY COUNTY 



to the Indeiiemlfiit Order of Odd Fellows, the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks aud the 
Modern Woodmen of America. The family 
attend the English Lutheran church. During 
almost twenty years' residence in Sioux City 
he has demonstrated his right to be classed with 
its leading business men, and he owes his suc- 
cess largely to the fact that he has persevered 
in a business in which he embarked as a young 
tradesman. 



JAMES DOUGHTY. 



James Doughty, who is making a specialty 
of probate, realty and insurance law in his 
practice as a member of the Iowa bar, with 
which he has been identified for fourteen years, 
was born on a farm near Meadville, Crawford 
county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of April, 
1855. His paternal grandfather, James 
Doughty, was born and reared near Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania. Though little is known 
concerning the early history of his ancestors, 
he was one of a large family and his brother 
William was chief naval constructor at Wash- 
ington in the early part of the century, while 
another brother, Thomas Doughty, was a land- 
scape artist of considerable note. James 
Doughty, the grandfather, located near Mead- 
ville, Pennsylvania, on a farm and in that lo- 
cality married Miss Nancy Hamilton. Their 
children were Thomas, William Hamilton and 
Margaret. The first named, after a short 
course in Allegheny College, removed west- 
ward and located at Leclaire, Iowa, after which 
he engaged in steam-boating on the Mississippi 
river. During the war of the Rebellion he was 
chief engineer of a river fleet of gunboats 
under Commodore Porter, who especially com- 
mended him for meritorious service. After 
the war he resinned steam-boating on the river, 
but failing health compelled him to engage in 
less arduous work and he removed to St. Louis, 
Missouri, where he died in 1896. Margaret 



Dougiity became the wife of Peter C. Hey- 
drick and resides in Erie, Pennsylvania. 

William Hamilton Dovighty, the father of 
our subject, was born and reared near ilead- 
ville, Pennsylvania, and after arriving at years 
of maturity he wedded Isabel Hurst McCurdy, 
who was also a native of that locality and was 
the eldest of three daughters of Robert and 
Eleanor (Hurst) McCurdy. William H. 
Doughty was a graduate of Allegheny College, 
of Meadville, Pennsylvania, one of the oldest 
educational institutions in the state. His 
course in that institution was, completed in 
1852 and he afterward engaged in teaching 
school. During the same period he studied law 
and in due time was admitted to practice in 
the courts of Crawford county, but the office 
confinement proving detrimental to his health 
he returned to the home farm, being also 
prompted to take this step because his father 
needed his assistance. He assumed the man- 
agement of the old homestead about the time 
of the outbreak of the Civil war and a ]iart 
of the farm he inherited upon the death of his 
father in 1864. There he resided for many 
years and upon the old homestead all of his 
children were born. In 1886, however, he sold 
the farm and removed to a farm in ISTorth 
Dakota, on which he still makes his home. 
There his wife died in June, 1899, at the age 
of sixty-eight years. In their family were 
eleven children. 

James Doughty, the eldest of this number, 
acquii'cd his rudimentary education in the 
district schools near Meadville, Pennsylvania, 
and later he attended the grammar and high 
schools of that city, while in 1873 he entered 
Allegheny College and was graduated there 
with the class of 1878. While in college he 
was a member of the Philo-Franklin Literary 
Society, to which his father had also belonged 
while attending that institution. James 
Doughty was likewise a member of the Scien- 
tific Club and of the Delta Tau Delta fra- 
ternity, and he was graduated as the first 



PAST AND PEES'ENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



619 



lieuteiiiiiit of the military department, the col- 
lege being a government detail school. After 
his graduation he registered as a law student 
with Hon. Myron Park Davis, a liromineut at- 
torney of Meadville, and was admitted to the 
Crawford county bar in February, 1881, and 
to the Erie county bar the following June. 
Two years later he was admitted to practice in 
the federal courts of Pittsburg and at the same 
time was appointed United States attorney for 
the district of western Pennsylvania. 

After four years devoted to law practice in 
the state of his nativity Mr. Doughty removed 
to the west aud in May, 1885, located in Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa, where he entered the real-estate 
and abstract office of Simmons & Pope, taking 
charge of the laAv and insurance business of 
that firm. He remained with them until the 
dissolution of their partnership early in the 
following year. He then purchased the law 
and loan business and the library of Roy Bil- 
lingsley at Vinton, Benton county, Iowa, where 
he practiced until August, 1888, when he was 
offered and accepted the position of attorney 
for the Farmers' Loan & Trust Company, a 
large mortgage company located at Storm Lake, 
but since removed to Sioux City. With this 
concern he remained until July, 1890, when he 
took up his abode in Sioux City to accept a 
similar jiosition offered him by the Union 
Trust Company, one of the most prominent 
financial institutions in the state, but its career 
was terminated by the financial jDanic of 1893. 
In June of that year Mr. Doughty was ap- 
pointed receiver for the company and this ap- 
pointment has given him a wide and valuable 
experience in the management of such estates. 
In the spring of 1894 ]\Ir. Doughty was elected 
police judge of Sionx City on the Republican 
ticket and held the oiRce for one term. Though 
always an ardent and active Repiiblican he has 
never been a candidate for any other office of 
prominence. His relations with the financial 
concerns before mentioned and also with other 
enterprises have brought him valuable experi- 



ence in examining titles and other branches of 
law bearing ujjon real property and his insur- 
ance business has gained him a comprehensive 
familiarity with insurance laws. He, there- 
fore, makes a sjiecialty in his practice of realty 
and insurance law as well as a probate practice, 
l^referring these lines to trial work. He is 
regarded as one of the strong representatives 
of his specialty and has an important and valu- 
able clientage. 

]\Ir. Doughty is a member of the j\Iethodist 
Episcopal church and is a Royal Arch Mason. 
He also belongs to the Benevolent Protective 
Order of Elks and Sioux Citj Boat Club. In 
his western home he has gained prestige by 
reason of his ability, his devotion to his clients' 
interests and his laudable ambition, and has 
carved his name high on the keystone of the 
legal arch of northwestern Iowa. 



JOIIX J. WOOD. 



John J. Wood, numbered among Iowa's 
native sons, was born in Jackson county on 
the 30th of December, 1853. His parents 
were John C. and Rachel (Strawn) Wood, 
both of whom are natives of Canada, where 
the father followed the occupation of farming. 
On leaving that country he went first to Illi- 
nois and subsequently came to Iowa, settling 
in this state in the '40s, when it was a frontier 
region with few improvements. He located in 
Jackson county and aided in reclaiming the 
wild land for the purposes of civilization. 
Later he removed to Howard county and after- 
ward to Benton county, where he reared his 
family. 

John J. Wood largely spent the days of his 
boyhood in Benton county, living upon the 
home farm, where he was early taught to per- 
form the duties of the fields. His educational 
privileges were extremely limited because his 
services Avere needed in the work of plovtdng, 
planting and harvesting. On leaving Benton 



620 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WUUDBUKY COUNTY 



comity he ruiuovt-d to Cedar county, where he 
coiitiiuied to engage in agricultural pursuits, 
following farming there until ISS-i. In that 
year he came to Woodbury county and secured 
a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty 
acres. The hardships and privations of frontier 
life were to be met, but he Avas willing to face 
its difRcnlties in urdcv tu eventually become 
the owner of a good and well improved farm. 
He broke his land, placed the fields under cul- 
tivation, fenced the tract, planted a grove, 
erected good buildings and, in fact, has per- 
formed every department of farm labor that 
leads to good results. He raises good stock 
and his fields also produce rich crops. 

In May, 1877, Mr. Wood was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Frances E. Davis, who was born 
in DeKalb county, Illinois. They are the 
parents of six children : Lee J., a resident 
farmer of Wolf Creek township; Edward J., 
who is also in business for himself; Arthur E. ; 
Dannie C. ; George G. ; and Lucy M. Polit- 
ically ]\Ir. Wood is a stanch Republican who 
cast his first presidential vote for Rutherford 
B. Hayes and has since supported each candi- 
date of the party for the highest ofiice within 
the gift of the people. He has been a resident 
of Woodbury county for twenty years and his 
entire life has been passed in Iowa, so that 
he is largely familiar with its history, while 
in Woodbury county ho has helped forward the 
woi'k of inipro\-cniont and is known as a repre- 
sentative farmer. 



DAVID W. IIUFF:i1AN. 

David W. Ilufl'man, living on section 18, 
Kedron township, is well known as a stock- 
raiser, making a specialty of the breeding and 
raising of pure blooded Aberdeen Angus cattle. 
For this purpose lie has extensive pastures in 
which he feeds his stock and he also has good 
improvements upon his farm, the buildings af- 
fording ample shelter for the stock in the winter 



seasons. He owns altogether four hundred and 
eighty acres of valuable land in northwestern 
Iowa, having two hundred and forty acres in 
the home place. Mr. Hufi'man is a product of 
the middle west — this section of the cotmtry 
which has had such rapid and substantial 
growth as to make its development appear al- 
most marvelous. Becoming imluicd with the 
enterj)rising sjurit of his time and locality Mr. 
Huffman has so labored that his work has 
formed the basis of excellent success and his 
good management has guided him from humble 
surroundings to a position of affluence. 

A native of Bureau county, Illinois, he was 
bfirn near Princeton on the ith of April, 3 852, 
and is a son of Isaac Huffman, who was born 
and reared in Xew Jersey. The mother bore 
the maiden name of Eleanor Grundyke, and 
she, too, was a native of Xew Jersey. Remov- 
ing to the west, Isaac Huffman settled in 
Bureau county, lUiniiis, and was identified with 
its early development, aiding in laying broad 
and deep the foundation upon which its present 
prosperity and progress rested. There he 
opened a farm and contimted its cultivation 
until his death, which occurred in 18.54, when 
his son, David W., was a child of two years. 
The mother afterward married again. There 
were four children by the first union, including 
David W. Huffman, whose name introduces 
this review. He was reared as a farmer boy 
and had fair school advantages. 

When a young man Mr. Huffman came to 
Iowa, settling first in Pottawattamie county, 
where he purchased land and began the develop- 
ment of a farm, continuing its ctiltivation for 
ten years. It was during that period that he 
was married, having in 1874 wedded Miss Ala- 
meda Rinehart, whose birth occurred in Cook 
county, Illinois, and who was a daughter of 
H. W. Rinehart, one of the early settlers of 
Iowa. The year 1884 witnessed the arrival of 
^Ir. Huffman in this county and he bought the 
farm where he resides. With characteristic 
energy he began its development and improve- 




]\rR. AND MKS. 1). \V. HUFFMAN. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



633 



ment. He had here three hundred and twenty 
acres, but after a time he sold a portion of this, 
now retaining possession of two Imndred and 
forty aci-es in the home place. The neat resi- 
dence upon the farm was erected by him and 
the barns and outbuildings were also put up 
under his supervision. He has planted an 
orchard which is just now coming into bearing 
and good improvements of every character are 
seen upon his place. He has also purchased two 
other farms in Kedron township and one in 
Miller to\\Tishii3 and his landed possessions are 
now extensive and valuable. He makes a busi- 
ness of the raising of the pure blooded Duroc 
Jersey hogs and Aberdeen Angus cattle. He 
now has a herd of thirteen head of cattle with a 
fine imported bull at the head. In this way he 
has done miich to improve the grade of stock 
raised in the county and prices paid for cattle 
and hogs have been thereby advanced. 

ilr. and !XIrs. Hutfman have become the 
parents of fourteen children, all of whom are 
living and four of the sons and one daughter 
have reached mature years and two of the sons 
are now engaged in business for themselves. As 
a citizen ilr. Huffman is interested in all that 
pertains to the progress and welfare of his 
community and in politics he is a stanch Repub- 
lican who has served as trustee of his township, 
but has never been active in politics in the sense 
of office seeking, preferring to do his service 
as a private citizen rather than as a public 
official. He has been, however, a director of 
schools and believes in employing competent 
teachers and giving the children the best possi- 
ble educational privileges in order to fit them 
for life's practical duties. A resident of Wood- 
bury county for a quarter of a century, he 
has witnessed much of its growth and has been 
the champion of many of its measures for im- 
provement, so that he is now widely and favor- 
ably knowTi. His success is justly merited and 
much enjoyed, for it yields to him the con- 
veniences and comforts which go to make life 
worth livina;. 



HEXRY F. GILLETT. 
Through a long period Henry F. Gillett car- 
ried on general farming in Grant township, 
where he owned and operated one hundred and 
sixty acres of land and now he is living retired, 
for his labor in former years made it possible 
that he should enjoy a period of rest in the 
evening of his life. He is an honored set- 
tler of Woodbury coimty, his residence here 
covering more than one-third of a century, 
while since 1856 he has made his home in the 
state. He was born in Geneseo, AVyoming 
county, jN'ew York, ilay 2, 1829. The family 
is of English ancestry and William Gillett, the 
grandfather of our subject, was a native of 
Xew York. He served his coimtry as a soldier 
in the Revolutionary war, valiantly aiding in 
the caiise of independence. He reared his fam- 
ily in the Empire state and it was there that 
Grove Gillett, the father of our subject, was 
born and reared, his native place being Wyo- 
ming county. After arriving at years of 
maturity he married Miss !N"ancy Bed- 
ford, who was born in Xew York and 
was a daughter of Squire Bedford, a 
native of England, who became a prominent 
and influential resident of the commiinity in 
which he made his home. He died, however, 
during the girlhood days of Mrs. Gillett. Grove 
Gillett was a mechanic who followed the trade 
of a carpenter and joiner, and as a contractor 
did considerable mill and bridge Avork. He 
was a soldier of the Black Hawk war. In 
1838 he removed to Crawford county, Penn- 
sylvania, where he settled on a farm and did 
work at the business of building mills and 
bridges. In 1870 he came to Iowa and took 
up his abode on a farm in Woodbury county, 
where he spent his last years, passing away in 
April, 1872. His wife had died a number of 
years before in Clinton county, Iowa, and Mr. 
Gillett afterward married again. Henry F. 
Gillett is one of thirteen children born of the 
father's first marriage, twelve of whom reached 
years of maturity, while four are now living. 



624 



PAST AXD rHP:sEXT OF \VOUDBn?Y COLXTY 



Henry F. Gillett came to Iowa with hi? par- 
ents in ISoO, at which time the family home 
was established in the northern part of Clinton 
county and there he was reared on the home 
farm, no event of special importance occurring 
to vary the routine of farm life and work for 
him in his youth. He had fair common-school 
advantages and the lessons of industry, econ- 
omy and integrity were instilled into his mind 
and have borne fruit in later years. 

Mr. Gillett was married in Clinton county 
on Christmas day of 185 1 to Miss Sarah 
Sleeper, who was a native of Vermont and an 
early settler of Iowa. He afterward engaged 
in farming in Clinton county for a nimiber 
of years and in 1867 he came to Woodbury 
county, locating first in Miller to\\niship, where 
he purchased a tract of laud and engaged in 
farming for some time. He then sold out 
and in 1860 secured a homestead in Wolf 
Crei>k township which he improved. Later he 
sold this and bought a farm of one hvmdred and 
sixty acres of raw land in Grant to\vnship. 
This he placed under the plow and opened up a 
farm on which he made good improvements. 
There he carried on agricultural purstiits for 
a uimibor of years or imtil lSi)0, when he 
rented his land and removed to Anthon, where 
he built a good home and has since lived re- 
tired. His property is an indication of his 
life of thrift and industry, for all that he pos- 
sesses has been acquired through his own un- 
remitting labor and cai-eful management. He 
still o^\^ls two valuable farms and a good home 
in Anthon. 

In 1S80 Mr. Gillett was called upon to 
mourn the loss of his first wife, who died 
August 2 2d, of that year. There were eight 
children of that marriage, of whom six are 
living: Catherine A., the wife of Piatt Hall; 
Edgar K., of Anthon: Amelia, the wife of 
X. E. Palmer, of this county: Antoinette, the 
wife of Edwin Carlin. of Anthon ; William, 
who is living in Lomars. Iowa : Dora E.. who 
attained adult age and was married, but is now 



deceased; and Deborah, the wife of Fred 
Horton, of Sioux City. In March, 1883, Mr. 
Gillett was again married, his second union 
being with Mrs. Mary Morcy, a widow, who 
was born in Chenango county, Xew York, and 
was a daughter of Esquire Brooks, who re- 
moved with his family to Illinois, becoming 
one of the pioneer residents of Bureau county, 
where Mrs. Gillett was reared. She had four 
children by her first marriage: Harvey 
ilorey, who is living in Ida county, Iowa ; 
Dora, the wife of T. S. Snell, of Ida Grove; 
Fred, now of Anthon ; and Charles, deceased. 

Politically !Mr. Gillett is a Republican, hav- 
ing stipported the party since its organization, 
while his first ballot was cast for General Scott 
in 1852. Since locating in Anthon he has 
lived a retired life. He has a wide and favor- 
able acquaintance throughout the county, where 
he has lived for thirty-seven years and with the 
prosperity and development of which he has 
been closely and actively connected. He has 
borne a helpful part in the work of general 
progress and improvement and has favored 
every measure tending to advance the best in- 
terests of this portion of the state. 



CHAKLES P. DOW. 



Charles P. Dow, who was well kno'wn to the 
early settlei-s of Woodbury county, was a native 
of Warren county, Vermont, born July 9, 1835, 
his j)ai"enfs being Peter and Rhoda Dow, both 
oi whom were natives of ^'ermont. The mother 
died during the early Iwyhood of her son and 
the father afterward married again in the east. 
Subsequently he removed to the west, settling 
in Wisconsin, where he was engaged in farming 
for several years. Later he removed to Xe- 
braska, where he carried ou agrictiltural pur- 
suits until his later years, when he lived re- 
tired. He has now passed away. 

Charles P. Dow acquired a common-school 
education in Wisconsin and afterward assisted 




Ml{. AND MES. C. P. DOW. 



PAST AND PEES'ENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



627 



his father until his marriage, which was cele- 
brated in Beaverdam, Wisconsin, Miss Eliza- 
beth Heath becoming his wife. She was born in 
Ontario county, a daughter of Mitchell and 
Jeanette Heath. Her father was a farmer in 
Wisconsin for many years and afterward re- 
moved to Covington, now South Sioux City, 
[N'ebraska, where he carried on agricultural 
pursuits for a long jieriod and then retired to 
private life. Both he and his wife died in 
Covington. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dow were 
born eight children, of whom four are now 
living: Ida J., the widow of Austin J. Kings- 
bury and a resident of Sioux City; Minnie G., 
a stenographer residing with her mother ; Katie, 
the wife of Fred Haney, of Minneapolis, Min- 
nesota ; and Louella B., also a stenographer, re- 
siding with her mother. Those deceased are 
Frank, Edith and Leila and one who died un- 
named. 

After his marriage Mr. Uow left Wisconsin 
in 1864 and removed to Union county, South 
Dakota, settling near Siotix City, where he 
worked at the carpenter's trade and also en- 
gaged in contracting until 1875, when he came 
to Covington, i^ebraska, which is now South 
Sioux City, just across the river from Sioux 
City. There he began working at his trade 
and also did general work in the machine shops 
of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Hail- 
road for a short time. He afterward turned his 
attention to bee culture, and after purchasing 
a lot on which he built a home he engaged in 
conducting an apiary and raising honey for the 
market for several years, or until impaired 
health caused him to seek a change of climate. 
He then located in Powers county, Colorado, 
where he resided for several months, and upon 
his return to Covington he once more engaged 
in raising honey. Later, however, he invested 
his money in real estate. He had been very 
successful in the conduct of his apiary and hav- 
ing acquired a competence he at length retired 
to private life. He continued to reside in Cov- 
ington until [March, 1903, when he removed 



across the river to Sioux City, where he lived in 
retirement from business until his death, Sep- 
tember 28, 1903. 

In politics Mr. Dow was a stanch Ee^iublican 
and for two years served as a member of the 
Dakota legislature and held many minor posi- 
tions in Union county, South Dakota. He be- 
longed to the Indeiiendent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows at Covington, and as that city is just across 
the river from Sioux City he was well known in 
the latter place and the history of his life will 
be received with interest by his many friends, 
who reside in the county seat. Mrs. Dow is a 
member of the First Methodist Episcopal 
church here and her two daughters are members 
of the Presbyterian church. They now reside 
at 1422 Pierce street and Mrs. Dow still owns 
a nice residence in South Sioux City and sev- 
eral good building lots there. 



ISAAC A. HAKVEY. 



Isaac A. Harvey, who is engaged in the ab- 
stract business in Sioux City as a member of 
the firm of Talley, Harvey & Company, was 
born in Carmonsie, Scotland, June 8, 1850, 
his parents being William J. and Isabella 
(Barclay) Harvey. His father was the laird 
of Carmonsie, a justice of the peace and deputy 
lieutenant of the county. His landed posses- 
sions comjirised three thousand acres. He 
spent the greater part of his life in Scotland 
and died in 1868. His wife passed away in 
1890, at the age of sixty years. They had a 
family of eleven children. Isaac A. Harvey, 
the seventh child and the only one in America, 
was reared and educated in his native land 
and came to Iowa twenty years ago. He lo- 
cated in Sioux City in 1888 and has since been 
engaged in the abstract business. He was first 
associated with George M. Pardee for two 
years, and since December, 1889, has been with 
0. B. Talley, under the firm name of Talley, 
Harvey 6ir Company. They have a good pat- 



628 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBTRY COUNTY 



ronage and the years of the tiriu's existence 
have been prosjjerous ones to thein. 

Mr. Harvey was married in 1SS6 to Miss il. 
Margaret Simpson, of Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania, and they have one son, John V. Harvey, 
who is a student in Williston Seminary, at 
Easthampton, Massachusetts. Mr. Harvey is 
a Rei^ublican and a member of the First Pres- 
byterian church. In the years of his residence 
in this country he has seen no reason to regret 
his determination to seek a home in America, 
for here he has won a desirable measure of 
prosperity, and has gained many friends. He 
has also become deeply interested in the coun- 
try, her institutions, and the progress which 
she is making, and is truly American in inter- 
ests and spirit. 



ELIZABETH J. MacDEK^^IOTT. :\1. D. 

Dr. Elizabeth J. MacDermott, who since 
1804 has been engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine in Sioux City with excellent success, 
was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Xovember 
5, 1864. Her parents, P. S. and Elizabeth 
(MacDermott) Brennan, are both deceased. In 
early boyhood the father came from Ireland to 
America and settled in Wisconsin, where he 
afterward engaged in business as a civil engi- 
neer and surveyor. He was county surveyor 
there for about eighteen years and stibsequent 
to his removal to Ackley. Franklin county, 
Iowa, in 1S71, he was elected surveyor of that 
county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Brennan were 
highly educated people and Dr. MacDermott 
received the greater part of her early instruc- 
tion from her parents. Aside from this she 
attended a school which convened in a log build- 
ing. In the family were three cliildreu: Jo- 
seph M., a farmer of Oklahoma, now forty-two 
years of age ; ilrs. Anne O'Brien, the widow 
of Dr. C. D. O'Brien, of Ackley, Iowa, now 
living with her sister : and Elizabeth. 

From early girlhood Mrs. INfacDermott mani- 
fested strong predilection for the practice of 



medicine. She comes from a family of physi- 
cians on her mother's side, all of her mother's 
brothers being jihysicians and officers in the 
English army, When a mere child she was one 
day "playing medicine" with her brother and 
gave him a dose of laudanum, not realizing 
what it was, but when she saw the result, none 
of the family being at home, she took down Dr. 
Chase's medical book, hunted up what was said 
about the poison and administered the antidote, 
thus saving the child's life and also displaying 
at that early age great self-control and capabil- 
ity. She attended school in Ackley, Iowa, 
also was a student in the State Xormal School 
at Cedar Falls, Iowa, spending two terms in 
that instittition. When fifteen years of age she 
taught school in Grundy county for two years. 
When nineteen years of age she went to Dub- 
lin, Ireland, visiting there for two years and 
also receiving instruction from private gov- 
ernesses. Returning to Iowa at the age of 
twenty-one years, she made her home with her 
father until his death, in September, 1886. 

In March, 1887, she was married in Ackley, 
Iowa, to Dr. J. D. MacDermott, who died in 
1889. He was a graduate of Trinity College of 
Dublin, Ireland, and also of a college in Scot- 
land. For a number of years he was a surgeon 
on the Allen Steamship line between Liverpool 
and Canada and was a close friend of Sir John 
MacDonald. 

In 1891, after the death of her husband, Mrs. 
MacDermott determined to take up the study 
of medicine and entered the Iforthwestern Uni- 
versity at Chicago, from which she was gradu- 
ated in 1S',I4. She completed the four years' 
medical course in three years, and was gradu- 
ated in pharmacy at the same time. Coming 
to Sioux City in 1894, she has enjoyed a grati- 
fying practice here from the start and now has a 
large patronage. She is a member of the Mis- 
souri Valley Medical Society and the Austin 
Flint ^fedical Society of Franklin county, 
Iowa. 

Dr. ^[acTVrmott is a member of the French 




DR. E. J. MacDERMOTT. 



PAST AKD PRESENT OF WOODBLTRY COUNTY 



G31 



Catholic church of St. John the Baptist. For 
the List two years she has sijent the winter 
mouths in California. She has wide acquaint- 
ance professionally and socially in Sionx City, 
and in the vocation which she has chosen as her 
life work she displays superior proficiency, 
arising from natural ajititude and careful prepa- 
ration. 



MAETIK BOYLE. 



Martin Boyle, residing upon the old Boyle 
homestead of one hundred and twenty acres in 
Liston township, Woodbury county, was born 
in Illinois, in July, 1872, his birthplace being 
in Carthage, Hancock county. His parents 
were ilichael and Margaret Boyle, and the 
father was a farmer by occupation in early 
life, but subsequently turned his attention to 
other business pursuits in Keokuk, Iowa. He 
died in February, 1892, at the age of sixty- 
seven years, while his wife jiassed away in 
1896, at the age of fifty-six years. The pa- 
ternal grandparents of our subject were 
Thomas and Mary (Dolen) Boyle, natives of 
Ireland, in which country their son Michael 
Boyle was also born. 

In the family of Michael and Margaret 
Boyle were the following named: Thomas, 
who died at the age of six months ; Annie, who 
died at the age of two years ; Mrs. Mary O'Con- 
nor, who is now residing in Geddis, South Da- 
kota ; Eliza, the wife of P. Rush and a resident 
of Woodbury county; John, who is living in 
Morgan township ; ]\Irs. Maria Holden, of Ok- 
lahoma ; Maggie, who is a sister of mercy in 
Council Bluffs ; Martin ; and Josie, the wife of 
Ed Lahey, who resides in jMorgan township. 

Martin Boyle was a young lad when brought 
by his parents to Iowa and his education was 
acquired in the public schools of Dallas and of 
Woodbury counties. He was reared to farm 
life, early becoming familiar with the labors 



and duties that fall to the lot of the agricul- 
turist, and he still resides upon the old family 
homestead, where he has one hundred and 
twenty acres of rich laml miw well iuipr(.ived 
and highly cultivated. He is an enterprising 
farmer, conducting his business along pro- 
gressive lines, and his labors are attended with 
a gratifying measure of success. 

On the 2d of May, 1900, Mr. Boyle was 
united in marriage to Miss Mary Brougham, 
a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Kennedy) 
Brougham, who were born in ISTew York and 
Ohio,' respectively. He was a railroad con- 
tractor, carrying on business in that way for 
many years. His wife died when twenty-seven 
years of age and he afterward married again, 
while his death occurred November 27, 1895, 
when he was sixty-foiir years of age. Of the 
three children of the family James resides at 
Council Bluff's and the other two are Mrs. An- 
nie O'Connor and Mrs. Mary Boyle, who was 
educated in Pottawattamie county, Iowa, in the 
Western Iowa College at Council Bluffs and 
at the normal school for teachers. She en- 
gaged in teaching for foiir years, spending two 
years of that time in Pottawattamie and two in 
WoodbiTry coimty, but the profession did not 
prove congenial to her and she gave up the 
work and became the wife of Mr. Boyle. She 
is a lady of rare intelligence and most ad- 
mirable womanly traits and characteristics and 
is proving a most capable assistant and help- 
mate to her husband. On the farm they have 
a beautiful home, which is painted white and 
can be seen for miles around. Their marriage 
has been blessed with one child, Thomas, whose 
birth occurred February 17, 1902. Both Mr. 
and ]\Irs. Boyle are communicants of the Catho- 
lic church at Danbury and in his political 
views he is a Democrat. In 1888 he was 
elected a school dii-ector and has since occu- 
pied that position. His life record is cred- 
itable and commendable and in the county 
where he has so long made his home he deserves 
to lie ranked among the representative citizens. 



638 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



S. V. LAMBERT. 

S. V. LauiluTt, who is engaged in general 
agricultural pursuits on section 22, Rutland 
township, claims New York as the state of his 
nativity, his birth having occurred there in Gen- 
esee county on the 14th of February, 1846. His 
father, Joseph Lambert, was a native of Eng- 
land and was there reared, learning the tailor's 
trade after completing his education in the pub- 
lic schools. When a young man he came to the 
United States, settling in Pittsburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he worked at his trade. He after- 
ward located in New York and engaged in tail- 
oring at Darien Center, successfully conducting 
a shop there. He was married in Pennsylvania 
to Miss Anna Catherine Aborn, who was born 
in the Keystone state, but was of German par- 
entage and ancestry. Her parents died during 
her early girlhood and she was reared by friends. 
After removing to the Empire state Mr. Lam- 
bert continued to engage in tailoring there until 
1856, when he went to Eaton county, Michigan, 
and although he located on a farm he worked 
at his trade in Eaton Eapids, where he spent his 
last years. In his family were six sons, all of 
whom reached mature years: William R., who 
died in early manhood; S. V., the second in 
order of birth; Walter, now of Chicago; Levi 
A., of Osceolo county, Michigan; ISTorris, who 
is living in Fort Wayne, Indiana ; and Frank, 
of Eaton Rapids, Michigan. 

Mr. Lambert, whose name introduces this re- 
view, spent the greater part of his youth in 
Eaton county, Michigan, upon the home farm, 
and to some extent attended the public schools 
of the neighobrhood, but his energies were 
largely devoted to the work of the farm and 
from the time of early spring planting until 
crops were harvested in the autumn he was 
largely engaged with the duties of the fields. 
After arriving at years of nmturity he chose a 
companion and helpmate for life's journey, be- 
ing married in Eaton cnunfy, ilicliigan, July 
3, 1869, to Miss Amelia ('. Jeffrey, who was 
bom in that county, a daugliter of Thomas Jeff- 



rey, a native of England and one of the pioneer 
residents of Michigan. In 1870 Mr. and Mrs. 
Lambert came to Iowa, locating in Jackson, 
where he worked by the month in a sawmill for 
six months. He then purchased a half interest 
in the business and was engaged in the manuf ac- 
tTire of lumber for several years, after which he 
sold out and removed to Jones county. He then 
engaged in the cultivation of a rented farm for 
nine years, and in the spring of 1884 came to 
Woodbury county, where he purchased one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land. This was culti- 
vated at that time, and with characteristic en- 
ergy he b(>gan its further improvement and has 
continued the work until the tract is very arable 
and productive. After several years he pur- 
chased an adjoining quarter section and now has 
a very excellent farm of three hundred and 
twenty acres situated on sections 22 and 23, Rut- 
land township. He has remodeled the house, 
l)uilt an addition tlierefo and has also built two 
good barns on the home place. Shade and fruit 
trees have been planted together with a consider- 
able amount of small fruits, and the latest im- 
proved machinery is used in the cultivation of 
the fields. He has also erected a large new barn 
on the adjoining quarter section and both tracts 
of land are very well improved and valuable. 

In 1900 Mr. Lambert was called upon to 
mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 23d 
of April, of that year. There are two sons of 
this marriage: Victor C, who married Marmie 
E. Heaton and has one child, Louise; and 
Frank, who in connection with his brother is 
carrying on the home farm. The eldest child, 
a daughter, Anna Viola, died at the age of four- 
teen months. 

During a residence of thirty-four years in 
Iowa and of twenty years in Woodbury county 
Mr. Lambert has so lived as to win the respect of 
his fellow men and to merit their entire confi- 
dence and regard. His political views are in 
accord with the principles of the Democracy 
and he has been elected and served as member 
of the school board and as commissioner of 




ME. AND MRS. S. V. LAMBEKT. 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODBUKY COLX'J'Y 



635 



highways, but has never sought or cared for of- 
fice. His attention has been devoted to his farm- 
ing operations and he is now one of the prosjDer- 
ous agriculturists of the county, although he 
started out in life empty-handed. He has, in- 
deed, won the proud American title of a self- 
made man and his record should serve as a 
source of encouragement and inspiration to 
others who have to start out as he did without 
capital or any assistance. 



HOiT. EENEST W. CALDWELL. 

The municipality of Sioux City has enjoyed 
no more beneficial administration than that of 
Hon. Ernest W. Caldwell, its former mayor, 
who, without following any of the usual polit- 
ical methods to secure office, or making any 
great promises as to Avhat he would do if 
elected, did, nevertheless, in the discharge of 
his duties give to the city a jDrogressive, clean 
and business-like administration, favoring re- 
form and improvement along all lines, and 
did his full duty in establishing and maintain- 
ing the material interests and the legal status 
of his community. 

Mr. Caldwell is a native of Clearfield, Penn- 
sylvania, born on the 13th of June, 1846, his 
parents being Matthew and Harriet (Hoover) 
Caldwell. His father is now living retired in 
Boone, Iowa, but his mother passed away at 
the age of seventy-seven years. ]\Iatthew Cald- 
well was of Scotcli parentage and the family 
was established in Pennsylvania at an early 
epoch in the colonization of the new world. 
There are now many representatives of the 
name from this branch of the family not only 
in the Keystone state, but in other sections of 
the union. In the year 1856 he came to Iowa, 
locating in Boonesboro, where he has since 
made his home. His wife was of German lin- 
eage and she, too, belonged to a well known 
family of Pennsylvania, which is very strong 
numerically. They were the parents of nine 



children, seven of whom are yet living: Ern- 
est W. ; Alvira E., a resident of Sioux Falls, 
Xorth Dakota ; Anna, the wife of IST. E. King, 
of Bagley, Iowa ; Leander E., of Pennsylvania ; 
Frank E., a minister of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church who is living at Cola, Iowa ; Lucile, 
the wife of Henry L. Page, of Sioux City ; and 
Ravena, the wife of John McCabe, of Boone, 
Iowa. 

In his boyhood days Ernest W. Caldwell 
accompanied his parents on their removal from 
Pennsylvania to Boonesboro, Iowa, and when 
still but a young lad he entered upon an active 
liusiness career as an employe in the office of 
the Boone County Democrat, in which he had 
a position as compositor. In 1859 he spent 
a short time near ISTevada, Story county, Iowa, 
and in 1861 was employed on the Des Moines 
Register. He set the type giving the account 
of the battle of Wilson's Creek and he con- 
tinued to work as a compositor in the capital 
city until 1863. In that year he printed the 
oidy newspaper issued between Des Moines 
and Sioux City. It was called the Greene 
County Star and was issued for the purpose 
of publishing the delinquent tax list for Greene, 
Carroll, Crawford, Sac and Ida counties. 

In 1864 Mr. Caldwell joined the Forty^ 
fourth Regiment of Iowa Volunteers as a mem- 
ber of Company H, enlisting for one hundred 
days' service and was mustered in at Boones- 
boro in May. At the expiration of his term 
he was honorably discharged at Nevada, Iowa, 
and the following year he returned to his na- 
tive state, where he remained until April, 1866, 
when he again came to the west. The same year 
he took charge of the territorial printing for 
the territory of Nebraska, establishing his office 
in Omaha. In 1868 in connection with other 
printers he organized the Daily Evening Times 
of Sioux City, the first daily paper of this 
place, and took up his abode here in 1869. 
His journal was the predecessor of the pres- 
ent Daily Tribune. In 18Y0, however, Mr. 
r'aldwell disposed of liis interest in the paper 



63 (i 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



and became foreman of the job department of 
the Journal office of Sioux City, and also filled 
vacancies on the reportorial staff. George D. 
Perkins, the editor of the Journal, was elected 
to the state senate in 1873 and during his 
term Mr. Caldwell tilled the editorial chair and 
after the return of Mr. Perkins became man- 
ager of the business and job department of the 
Journal. In March, 1878, he removed to Sioux 
Falls, Dakota, and was there very prominent 
and influential in public affairs. He served 
as village clerk and was also interested in news- 
paper work until ^November, 1896, being first 
connected with T. F. Stahl in the publication 
of the Pantograph, of Sioux Falls, a relation 
that was maintained for four years. This was 
a weekly paper and for a time was owned 
and published by Mr. Caldwell and W. H. D. 
Bliss under the firm style of Caldwell & Bliss, 
the senior partner having editorial charge. In 
1882 Mr. Bliss purchased the paper, but Mr. 
Caldwell continued as editor and upon the 
death of Mr. Bliss in 1890 Mr. Caldwell be- 
came sole proprietor of the Joiirnal, which he 
continued to publish with good success until 
189fi. Pie then disposed of his plant and re- 
turned to Sioux City. In the meantime, how- 
ever, he had been very prominent and influen- 
tial in public affairs. From 1885 until 1887 
he was territorial editor and ex-officio trans- 
commissioner and in 1887 lie liecame compiler 
of laws, preparing a volume of fifteen hundred 
pages which became the liody law for tlie two 
Dakota states and also for Oklahoma. With 
him in this enterprise was associated Charles 
H. Price. Mr. Caldwell was familiarly known 
throughout Dakota as "Cal" and this volume 
became known as "Cal code." In 1889 Mr. 
Caldwell was chosen a member of the consti- 
tutional committee to prepare the constitution 
of the state of Soiith Dakota and perhaps wrote 
more of the organic law of that commonwealth 
than any other man. He was also a member 
of the joint commission, which was composed 
of seven members and the business of which 



was to apportion assets and liabilities to the 
two states, which then formed the Dakota ter- 
ritory. 

In 1896 Mr. Caldwell returned to Sioux 
City and in November of that year became city 
editor of the evening edition of the Sioiix City 
Journal, which position he filled until, after 
much persuasion, he accepted the nomination 
on the Republican ticket for mayor of Sioux 
City and was elected. He did not spend a cent 
for his election, nor did he make any pledges 
as to what he would do in office, and the pop- 
ularity and the confidence reposed in him by 
the public are shown by the fact that he re- 
ceived the largest majority that has been given 
any party candidate in Sioux City for mayor. 
He was elected in March, 1902, his vote above 
that of the other candidates numbering eleven 
hundred and twenty-seven. During his admin- 
istration no public gambling houses existed nor 
were games of chance machines allowed in the 
city. He also quelled the bickering among sa- 
loon men, suppressed vice in many ways and 
jjromoted many measures for the general prog- 
ress and welfare. 

In 1868 occurred the marriage of Mr. Cald- 
well and iliss Ineatus A. Beard, of Omaha, 
Xeliraskn, and unto them have been born three 
children : "Maude, who is the wife of J. C. 
Vitzthum, of Pioc-k Valley, Iowa : Paul H., who 
is market odimr for tlio Sioux City Journal; 
aH<l Clnudin C. Caldwell. 



CAPTAIX R. T. MADDISON. 

Captain E. T. Maddison, who carried on gen- 
eral farming on sections 34 and 35, Kedron 
township, ■\\'as born in ISTorthumberlandshire, 
England, on the 14th of January, 1827. His 
father, Thomas Maddison, was also a native of 
the same locality and there reared his family. 
Captain iladdison spent the days of his boy- 
hood and youth under tlie parental roof and 
received good school privileges in Northumber- 




K. T. MAinnsoN. 




MKS. U. T. .MAPDISOX. 



PAST AND rUKSKNT OF \V(HiPBri!Y I'OUNTY 



641 



laiulsliivo. atroinUug a high school afior eomplot- 
ing his preliminary (.-ourse. A\'heii a young 
man ho onlistod in the Voluntoor Second Xorth- 
uniberland Artillery as a gunner, lie served 
for twenty years and was promoted to the rank 
of eaptaiu in reeognition of his capability and 
loyalty. 

In ^larch, ISOT, Captain Maddison was unit- 
ed in marriage to Miss .\nua Archibald, an 
English la<ly, and they began their domestic 
life in ihcir native country, where Captain 
Maddison carried oii farming until ISSO. lie 
then emigrated to America and made his way 
direct to Woodbury county, Iowa, where he ar- 
rived in the month of ^larch. Here he first 
purchased eighty acres of land, but to that 
property has added frcnn time to tinu^ by addi- 
tional purchases until he now owns four hun- 
dred and eighty acres, all in one tract. Tliis 
is rich and arable and yields to him good crops. 
He has nutde many excellent improvements u]v 
on the place and in connection with general 
farming he raises a good grade of stock. In 
all of his business life he is progressive and en- 
terprising and carries forward to successful 
completion whatever he undertakes. In 1S93 
Captain iladdison was called upon to mourn 
the loss of his wife, who passed away on Christ- 
mas day of that year. Seven of their children 
are yet living: Ada. who is acting as her 
father's housekeeper; Thomas, a farmer of 
Kedron township; Harry, who is married and 
owns and operates a good farm in Kedron to\m- 
ship: John, who is in [Montana, where he fol- 
lows merchandising; Leslie, who is acting as 
housekeeper for her brother; Xina, at home; 
and Gilbert, who is married and owns a good 
farm in Kedron township. One son, William 
^faddison, ]iassed away in early matdioiid. 

In his political affiliations Captain ^laddison 
is a stanch TJepublican and keeps well informed 
on the questions and issues of the day. but has 
never sought or desired public office but he has 
served, however, as a member of the school 
board and the cause of education finds in him 



a warm friend, lie was reared in the Episco- 
pal faith and he and his children now attend 
the services of the Methodist Ejnseopal church, 
of which they are mendiers. Cajttain iladdi- 
s.m is a man of sterling character and worth, 
who has won the good will ami trust of his fel- 
low men and during his residence in Wood- 
luiry county he has gained a wide circle of 
friends, lie has also prosjiered in his uttder- 
lakings and as ilie result of his earefidly direct- 
ed labor has become a ]iros]ierous farmer of 
W'oodburv countv. 



JOIiy KKXAT.EY 



-lohn Kcnali'y, interested in farming in 
Woodbury county, was born on the old family 
homestead in -tones couiuy, Iowa, ^lareh ;>1, 
IS.'iO. His father, l'a\id Kenahy, was born 
in County Cork, Irelaiul. and when twenty- 
one years of age came to America, believing 
that he might have better business opportu- 
nities in the new world, lie made his way first 
to Illinois and afterward to Dubuque, Iowa, 
lie began farming in Jones county, Iowa, and 
when thirty-tive years of age was killed there 
by a man throwing a scythe at him and cutting 
off his legs. His death occurred in 1S59. His 
widow still survives and is now living at Xeola, 
in Ponawaitamie county. In the family were 
six sons and a daughter. 

John Kenaley pursued his education in the 
schools of Jones county, mastering the com- 
mon branches of learning, biu his opportunity 
to attend school was rather limited. He has 
always carried on agricultural juirsuits and be- 
coming a resident of Woodbury county, he 
here owns a valuable farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres splendidly improxcd. Upon the 
place he has now an orchard e<mtaining twenty 
old apjile trees and eighty viuuig trees, lie 
also has fourteen head of cows, three heail o{ 
horses and sixty hogs, and be \vas iMigaged in 
bnvins' cattle for a number of vears. Lie is 



643 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



thoroughly familiar with farm work in every 
department, is energetic and enterprising in 
carrying on the fai-m and as the result of his 
carefully managed affairs he is enjoying a good 
annual income. 

On the 6th of October, 1S92, Mr. Keualcy 
was married to Miss Mary O'Connor, who was 
born in Canada and is a daughter of John and 
Mary (Wolfe) O'Connor and a sister of Simon 
O'Connor. Three children graced this union: 
Maggie, now six years of age ; Mary, four years 
old: and Kaymond, a little lad of two sum- 
mers. They also lost two children, John David, 
who died at the age of five years ; and William, 
who died in infancy. 

Mr. Kenaley is somewhat independent in 
his political aMiations, but iisually votes with 
the Democracy. He is connected with the 
Catholic church at Dnnbury and is interested in 
all that pertains to the material, intellectual, 
social and moral progress of this commiu\ity. 
Dependent upon his own resources from an 
early age, he has worked his way steadily up- 
ward and he owes his success to his pei-sever- 
ance and untiring diliffence. 



W. H. H. XIVLIXG. 



W. H. H. Xivling, who is engaged in 
handling both farm and city property as a real- 
estate agent of Sioux City, and has by enter- 
prising methods and honorable dealing se- 
cured a good clientage, whereby he has gained 
a place among the substantial citizens of the 
county, has made his home in the west since 
18S7. He is a native of Pennsylvania, born 
in Birmingham, Huntingdon county, on the 
16th of March, 18-11. The family is of Ger- 
man lineage, and the name was originally 
spelled Xiebling. The grandfather, Adam 
Nivliug, was a resident of Clearfield county, 
Pennsylvania. John Xivling, his father, also 
a native of Pennsylvania, was twice married, 
his first marriaire beinc: with ^liss Baslott, bv 



whom he had two children, David and Mar- 
garet. The former was engaged in military 
service and won the rank of major. Por his 
second wife John Xivling married Mary 
Adams, Mho was also born in the Keystone 
state. His death occurred in lS5t>, when he 
was forty-eight years of age, and his M'ife died 
in 1S'J6. Their children were: Thomas, now 
deceased ; W. H. H., the subject of this 
sketch; ^Vun, who has also passed away: and 
John and ^Mary, both living. 

Ill the graded schools of Blair coimty, Penn- 
sylvania ; W. H. H. Xivling acquired his edu- 
cation and in 1861 he began teaching school, 
which profession he followed in Blair county 
for two years. He then accepted a position as 
bookkeeper with an iron manufacturing com- 
pany and later was promoted to the position of 
assistant manager of the plant. While con- 
nected with the company he invented an up- 
right engine and boiler, which came into gen- 
eral use in connection with the iron industry. 
In 186-1 Mr. Xivling embarked in business on 
his own account, at T^Tone, Pennsylvania, 
establishing a fo\mdry and machine business, 
which he conducted for fifteen years. He then 
sold out and made his way to the Black Hills, 
where he arrived on the 27th of Xovember, 
1887, to accept the position of superintendent 
of the assessment work of the Savage tunnel 
mining claims, held by James Milliken, of 
Xew York. He remained there for seven 
months, when the work was completed, and he 
established his home in Sioux City, arriving 
here on the 4th of June, 1888. He has since 
engaged in the real-estate business, handling 
IhuIi city and farm property, and he has thor- 
oughly informed himself concerning property 
values and has secured a good clientage by rea- 
son of his enterpi-ising methods and well known 
reliability. 

On the 29th of Octol>er, 1869, Mr. Xivling 
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Anna 
^rilliken Thompson, who was a native of Penn- 
svlvaiiia, and died Xovember 15, 1895. Nine 



PAST AND rUESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



(i43 



children were bum ot" that marriage, of whom 
seveu are yet liviug: Samuel, Mariou, Walter, 
Caroline, Xaucy. Emma and Harry. Those 
deceased are Grace and Sarah. 

ilr. Xivling is a member of the Presbyterian 
church and is interested in all that pertains to 
the intellectual and moral development of his 
adopted city. In his political affiliation he is 
independent, voting for the man rather than 
the party. The strong and characteristic ele- 
ments in his life record are such as have made 
him a respected and valued citizen of Wood- 
burv countv. 



JOnX R. WATSOX. 



John R. Watson, a farmer and stockman, 
controlling extensive agricultural interests just 
east of Hornick, having charge of the Shaw- 
farm of fifteen hundred acres, was born in 
Jonesville, Michigan, in 1846, his parents be- 
ing natives of England. His father, a soldier 
of the Civil war, was killed at the battle of Ke- 
saca in ISOJr. Thomas Watson, a brother of 
our subject, served for four and a half years 
in Company E, Sixty-fourth Regiment of Illi- 
nois trooi:is. 

In his early boyhood days John R. Watson 
accompanied his parents on their removal to 
Illinois, and was there reared upon the home 
farm, while in the jmblic schools he acquired 
his education, and his business experience, ob- 
servation and reading have greatly broadened 
his knowledge since he put aside his text books. 
He was living in Illinois at the time of the otit- 
break of the Civil war, and in July, 1861, al- 
though only fifteen years of age, he enlisted in 
defense of the old flag and the cause it repre- 
sented, becoming a member of Company G, 
Sixty-fourth Illinois Infantry, to which regi- 
ment his brother Thomas was attached, al- 
though he was a member of Company E. This 
regiment was knowm as Governor Yates' sharp- 
shooters, ^h*. Watson participated in a num- 



ber of important engagements, went with Sher- 
man on the celebrated march to the sea, and, 
in August, 1865, he received an honorable dis- 
charge, having always been fotmd faithfully at 
his post of duty, whether it led him into the 
thickest of the fight or to the lonely picket line. 

After the war was over ^Ir. Watson returned 
to his home in Illinois, and later he became a 
resident of Dakota. He has made his home in 
Woodbury county for fourteen years, arriving 
here in 1890. Throughout the entire period 
of his business career he has engaged in gen- 
eral farming and he now has charge of the farm 
owned by Secretary of the Treasury Shaw, of 
Dennisou, Iowa. It comprises fifteen hundred 
acres of fine land and under the supervision of 
jMr. Watson is a well conducted farm, for his 
methods are practical and progressive and pro- 
duce excellent results. 

In 1879 ilr. Watson was united in marriage 
to Miss Kate Gary and they have six sons and 
one daughter: Allen, Thomas, George, Glenn, 
Albert, Hobart and Maude. The family is 
widely and favorably known in Woodbury 
county and ilr. Watson bears an excellent repu- 
tation as a business man, being enterprising, 
sagacious, reliable and energetic. In his poli- 
tical views he is a Republican, stanehly stip- 
jiorting the men and measures of the party, 
and he maintains pleasant relations with his old 
army comrades by his membership in the Grand 
Army of the Repulilic, and among the veterans 
he delights to recall the experiences of the 
tented field when he wore the blue imiform in 
defense of the nation's starrv banner. 



PETER S:\I1T1I. 



Peter Smith, a well known farmer of T-i-^^on 
to^vuship, was born on the 13th of March, 
1832, in Cranberry township, Venango county, 
Pennsylvania, his parents being Peter and 
]\[ary Ann Smith, who were natives of Cente^. 
countv, that state. Bv trade the father was a 



644 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



cooper, but he also owned and operated a farm. 
Our subject was reared amid rural scenes 
with no educational advantages during his bov- 
hood, though he has become a well informed 
man since his marriage. On leaving his native 
state he removed to Wisconsin, where he spent 
one year, and then became a resident of Frank- 
lin county, Iowa, whence he removed to Wood- 
bury county, locating upon his present farm 
twenty-two yeai-s ago. Here he has eighty 
acres, for which he paid twenty-tive dollars 
per acre and at present it is all under cultiva- 
tion with the exception of twenty-five acres. 
He is quite extensively engaged in bee cul- 
ture and has a fine apiary, selling his honey :"or 
twelve and a half cents per poimd in the comb. 
He also acts as agent for G. B. Lewis iS: Com- 
pany, manufacturers of bee supplies, and dur- 
ing the early months of 1004 sold over four 
hundred dollars worth of supplies for the com- 
pany. 

On the 2Sth of April, 1S52, Mr. Smith mar- 
ried Miss Eliza Jane Long, who is also a native 
of Cranberry township, Venango county, Penn- 
sylvania, and a daughter of Albert Long. The 
following children have blessed this union: 
Sherman, born April 12. 1S53, is married and 
lives in Anthon, Iowa. He has five children. 
Orrin G., born March 12, 1S56, is at home with 
his parents. Zelma T., born Aiigust 20, 1S5S, 
is the wife of A. J. Robinson, of Woodbury 
county, and has foiir children. Lydia, who is 
now the wife of Jack Cameron, living south of 
Danbury, has one child, Walter: Elsie; Char- 
lie and Orie. 

On attaining his majority Mr. Smith be- 
came identified with the Whig party and since 
its dissolution has been an ardent Kepublican. 
On accoimt of deafness he has never occupied 
any political oftice or done jury duty. He and 
his family are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, though his parents were Cumber- 
land Preslmerians in religious belief. He has 
a nice little home near Danbury. overlooking 
the vallev, and there he and liis wife ai-e 



spending their declining years in peace and 
comfort, honored and respected by all who 
know them. 



COXST-\:XT K. M.VKKS. 

The ancestral history of Constant R. Marks 
has been a conspicuous and honored element 
in the annals of Xew England from an early 
epoch in the colonization of the new world. 
The family home was in Connecticut. On the 
mother's side the families of Phelps and Gay- 
lord were among leaders in that unique colony 
that settled Windsor, Connecticut, a whole 
church congregation coming over together in 
1630. His great-grandfather and the grand- 
father Marks were members of the Connecticut 
legislature, the fonner being the first Democrat 
elected to that position from his town. 

The old homstead is situated at Burlington, 
where the great-grandfather took up his abode 
shortly after the Revolutionary war. during 
which period the membei-s of the family were 
advocates of the catise of independence. Al- 
meron Marks, the father, bom in Connecticut 
in 1814, became a lawyer of widely recognized 
ability, and. removing to Xew York, practiced 
in the cottrts of that state as the colleague of 
such distinguished men as Lyman Tremain. 

In 1S4S Almeron Marks was elected a mem- 
ber of the general assembly of Xew York, and 
he continued in active connection with the bar 
of that state xintil his death, which occurred in 
1852. His family afterward returned to Con- 
necticut. His widow, who bore the maiden 
name of ilarv Phelps and was a native of the 
Charter Oak state, was a descendant of Aaron 
Gaylord. one of those who perished in the Wy- 
oming massacre at the time of the Revolution- 
ary war. 

Constant R. Marks. K^rn in Durham, Greene 
county. Xew York. April 11. 1841, after his fa- 
ther's death lived with his grandfather in the 
ancestral home of the familv at Burlington, 



I 





^^ 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



647 



Connecticut, and became a student in the Con- 
necticut Literary Institute, a preparatory school 
at Suffield, that state. After the outbreak of the 
Civil war, April 18, 1861, he enlisted in the 
Eighth Massachusetts Infantry, this being the 
second regiment to enter the service, and was 
the one with which General Benjamin Butler 
opened the way to Washington, going through 
Annapolis. He was for a time stationed at 
Fort McHenry, Baltimore, and later at the Ee- 
lay House. Mr. Marks was taken ill with 
typhoid fever and was thereafter unfit for 
duty, and retiirned home with his regiment, 
thus ending his military career. 

Again he took up his studies, attending the 
Hudson Eiver Institute at Claverack, New 
York, and in 1863 he entered Yale College. 
While there he suffered an attack of erysipelas 
in the face and was obliged to relinquish his 
plans for the completion of his college coTirse. 
Several years passed ere he regained his health, 
and on the 1st of January, 1866, he began 
reading law with E. M. Wood at Pittsfield, 
Massachusetts. He attended the Albany Law 
School, at Albany, New York, and was admit- 
ted to the bar January 1, 1868. 

Following the advice of Horace Greeley, he 
sought in the growing west the scope for his ex- 
panding powers, and after a brief stay in Chi- 
cago he came to Sioux City, in April, 1868, 
and has since engaged in the practice of law 
there, with constantly increasing success. 
Many cases relative to the early settlement of 
the county came under his supervision, and in 
their preparation he has gained broad historical 
knowledge, which well equips him for the prep- 
aration of the historical section of this volume, 
few men having so comprehensive and reliable 
information concerning the early history as 
well as the latter-day progress of northwestern 
Iowa. 

ilr. ilarks was associated in the early years 
ill the practice of law with Hon. E. H. Hub- 
bard, under the firm of Marks & Hubbard, and 
later with J. P. Blood, and since 1885 with 



David Mould, under the firm of Marks i: ilould, 
his son, Russell A. ilarks, becoming a member 
of the firm in 18SS. His law practice from the 
outset of his connection with the bar has been 
large and profitable. Mr. Marks has also been 
identified with many enterprises, some of 
which, of a business nature, have brought him 
financial return, while others have been solely 
for the benefit of the public. 

In connection with W. L. Joy he erected the 
Marks-Joy block, known as the Garretson an- 
nex. During a vacancy he served for a time 
as president of the National Bank of Sioux 
City, which was organized in 1890 with a capi- 
tal of one million dollars, and was attorney for 
this bank and a director in other banks. He 
was one of the incorporators of the Sioux City 
Brick (i: Tile Company, the organization of 
which was perfected November 12, 1886. In 
1870 the county board of Plymouth coimty, 
Iowa, nominated him for special agent to settle 
with the United States land office in the swamp 
land affair, and he procured a large amount of 
land for the coimty, and before that county had 
resident attorneys acted as attorney for the 
county for several years. 

In 1869 he was elected to represent his dis- 
trict, composed of eight counties in north- 
western Iowa, in the state legislatiire. This 
was the year following his arrival in Sioux 
City. He served until the conclusion of the 
term and has since declined further political 
office, save in connection with school affairs, 
wherein he feels a conscientious obligation to 
perform to the best of his ability any service 
that will prove of value to his fellow citizens. 
He was a member of school board for nine 
years, acting as its president for three years, 
and retiring in 1889, and acting as its attorney 
since. He was one of the incorporators, and 
was prominently identified with the construc- 
tion of the city waterworks in 1883, and also 
with the pidJic library, which was built by pri- 
vate corporations at the request of the city, 
jMr. Marks bavins charge of the lesal interests. 



G48 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUIJY COUNTY 



Mr. Marks has been president for twelve 
years of the Kiverside Boat Club, one of the 
chief social and athletic factors in Sioux City 
life, and in that connection was for two years 
president of the Iowa State Amateur Ivowiug 
Association, under whose ausjjices several state 
regattas were held. 

Mr. Marks was married June 27, 1871, to 
Miss Josephine Kilbourn, of Great Barrington, 
Massachusetts, a daughter of Russell Kilbourn. 
They have three children: Russell A. Marks, 
who was graduated from Yale College in 
1895 ; C. R. Marks, Jr., now in the mining 
business at Deadwood, South Dakota; an<l a 
daughter, Josei^hine L. Marks, a pupil in the 
Sioux City high school. Mrs. Marks belongs 
to the Episcopal church, and Mr. Marks also 
attends its services. His fraternal affiliation is 
with the Odd Fellows society. His associates, 
found among the men of broad culture and 
ability, entertain for him high regard, and 
Sioux City, because of his forceful and well- 
directed activity in her behalf numbers liim 
among her representative men. 



JASOX D. FARR. 



Jason D. Farr was born in April, 1844, in 
Lewis County, Xew York. His parents were 
Alvin and Sally (Van Wagener) Farr, the for- 
mer a native of New Hampshire and the lat- 
ter of the Empire state. The father was a 
farmer by occujiatioii, and at one time served as 
sheriff of Lewis county, Xew York, where he 
resided up to tlie time of his death in 1874. 
Had he lived eleven days longer he would 
have been eighty years of age. His widow 
now makes her home a part of the time with 
Jason D. Farr and is eighty-two years of age. 
A niece. Miss Lvilu Farr, whose parents died 
six years ago, has since made her home with 
him. 

In the public schools of Xew York Jason D. 
Farr acquired his education and when twenty- 



three years of age he began farming on his 
own account, continuing in that business elev- 
en years. In December, 186G, Mr. Farr was 
united in marriage to Miss Clara Lyman, 
daughter of Perley Gould Lyman. Her fath- 
er was a native of Wilberham, Massachusettes, 
and his ancestors were among the earliest set- 
tlers of that state. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Farr 
was born one son, J. Clifford, whose birth oc- 
curred in January, 1870, and who is now 
married and living at Bloomiugton, Illinois. 
Mrs. Farr passed away September 12, 1872, 
and in February, 1878, Mr. Farr was again 
married, his second union being with Mary L. 
Lj-man, a half-sister of his first wife. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Farr are members of the Chris- 
tian Science church, in which he is serving as 
trustee. In politics he is a Republican where 
matters of national importance are involved, 
but at local elections where there is no issue 
before the people he casts his ballot independ- 
ently. 

Jason D. Farr has been identified with Sioux 
City since 1878 and has contributed extensively 
to its progress and best interests. In 1877 Mr. 
Farr made his way westward to Vermilion, 
South Dakota, where he entered a half section 
of government land. While there he formed a 
partnership with F. M. Smith, the firm being 
known as Smith & Farr, packers and shippers 
of butter and eggs, and they were the first 
people to pay cash for these commodities in 
this part of the west. In 1878 they removed 
to Sioux City, where they continued in the 
same line of business and also condiicted their 
house at Vermilion and established a similar 
enterprise at Lemars, Iowa. Smith & Farr be- 
gan business in a basement on Pearl street be- 
tween Third and Fourth, but soon outgrew 
these quarters and removed to the basement 
at Fourth and Pierce streets, then the postoffice, 
now Davidson Brothers' store, retaining the 
Pearl street house, a wooden structure, as an 
egg bouse. At this time it was very hard to 
find wheat straw around Sioux Citv aiid after 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



649 



much trouble quite a quantity was obtained and 
prepared for packing eggs but before it could 
be used the egg house caught fire and was 
burned, and Mr. Farr being informed of the 
loss in the middle of the night, exclaimed, 
"What ! and burned all that straw ?" Many 
amusing incidents could be related of those 
early days of Sioux City that would seem al- 
most incredible now. 

It soon became necessary to have more room 
and in 1881 Smith & Farr erected a fine brick 
building kno^vn as the Smith & Farr butter 
factory, at the corner of Second and Pierce 
streets. After one year Mr. Farr purchased 
his partner's interest and continued the busi- 
ness alone for five years. All this time he 
conducted three branch houses in Nebraska and 
seven branch houses and creameries in South 
Dakota. In 1887 he admitted his bookkeeper, 
W. G. Haley, to a partnership and they con- 
tinued business together imtil about 1892, when 
^Ir. Farr sold his interests to what was then 
known as the firm of Haley & Chase. He pur- 
chased an interest in the bus and transfer busi- 
ness with Mr. Foye, but after a year sold his 
interest to his partner and devoted his time to 
a previous investment in a large tract of land 
in Winona county, being away from Sioux 
City nearly five years. In 1898 Mr. Farr re- 
turned to Sioux City and again bought an in- 
terest in the bus and transfer business, but 
recently sold to H. Goodrich. He is at pres- 
ent identified with no firm but has interests 
in different lines. 



JAY XOKWOOD DARLIXG. 
There is, jjerhaps, no field of labor which 
has witnessed such remarkable advancement 
as has journalism in the past quarter of a cen- 
tury. A new department of all newspaper work 
is that of the cartoon artist, and it is in this 
connection that ^fr. Darling is associated with 
the Sioux City .Toiirnal. He is a young man, 
his birth havinc occurred on tlie 21st of Oc- 



tober, 1870, but already he has attained an 
enviable position in the line of his chosen pro- 
fession, and his abilities are such as to merit 
a continuance of his progress in the business 
world. Mr. Darling is a son of Mark W. 
and Clara (Woolson) Darling. His father was 
born March 9, 1814, in Leon, Cattaraugus 
county, J^ew Y'ork, and worked on a farm un- 
til 1862, when he enlisted for service in the 
Union Army as a member of the One Hundred 
and Fifty-fourth 'New Y'ork Volunteers. The 
regiment was assigned to the Army of the Po- 
tomac and he participated in many important 
engagements and movements, including the 
march to the sea. At the close of the war he 
received an honorable discharge, and at that 
time was serving with the rank of major. In 
1865 he returned to iSTew York and thence went 
to Albion College, Michigan, where he com- 
pleted a course of study by graduation in 1870. 
He was also professor of Greek there for two 
years, and afterward held a similar position 
in connection with the Michigan State Univer- 
sity at Ann Arbor for two years. Siibsequently 
he entered the ministry of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church and was first stationed at Cam- 
liria and afterward at TvTorwood. Subsequently 
be went to Elkhart, Indiana, as pastor of the 
First Congregational church, and in 1886 
he accepted the pastorate of the First Con- 
gregational church in Sioux City, where 
he remained until 1900. His work in the 
Sioux City field was remarkably fruitful and 
diaring the fourteen years of his pastorate his 
church became the leader in religioiis circles of 
the city. He removed to Glencoe, Illinois, May 
1.5, 1900, where he is now continning his min- 
isterial labors. On Christmas day of 1871 he 
was married to Clara Woolson, and they have 
two children, Frank Woolson and Jay Nor- 
wood. The former is now vice principal of the 
Chicago Normal school and makes his home in 
Chicago. 

Jay Norwood Dai-ling was educated in the 
public schools of Sioux City and in Beloit Col- 



650 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



lege at Beloit, Wiscoushi, where he was grad- 
iiated with the class of I'JOO. He has since 
been identified with jom-nalistic work. Fol- 
lowing his gradtiation he accepted a position 
as reporter on the Sioux City Journal. In 
1903 he drifted into cartoon work, and since 
that time his work has been one of the regular 
features of the Sioux City Jonriial. He has 
made this a most interesting department of 
the paper and has gained for himself a high 
reputation liecaiise of the excellence of his 
work. 



J. J. KEEFE. 



J. J. Keefe is a leading representative of the 
bttilding interests of Sioux City and now has 
a patronage which is indicative of his skill 
and ability. He has gradually developed a 
large business and many imjjortant contracts 
are now awarded him annually, while a large 
number of prominent structures in this city 
are monuments to his handiwork and industrial 
progression. His success has made his name 
one which bears weight on commercial pajjcr 
and he is therefore numbered among the sub- 
stantial citizens of Woodbttry county. He was 
born on the 31st day of December, 1869, in 
Canada, his parents being James and Eliza 
(Devanna) Keefe, who were also natives of 
that cotmtry. In early life the father learned 
the builder's trade and became a contractor of 
Canada, where he carried on btisiness for a 
number of years. Eventually, however, he re- 
moved with his family to Iowa about 1873, 
settling in Hampton, and there he was also 
connected with building operations. Unto him 
and his wife were born six children, three sons 
and three daughters, of whom J. J. Keefe is 
the third in order of birth. The others now 
living are W. P., Elizabeth, Katie and "SL A. 
Keefe. 

J. J. Keefe was only aliont four years of age 
at the time of his parents' removal to Town, and 



his early boyhood days were sjient under the 
parental roof in Hampton, where he acquired 
his education in the public schools, continuing 
Ills studies there until he had completed the 
high school course by graduation. During the 
summer seasons, when not engaged with his 
text books, he worked with his father and thus 
early learned the carpenter's trade. After leav- 
ing school he became his father's active assist- 
ant and they were associated in business until 
1889, when Mr. Keefe of this review came to 
Woodbury county, establishing his home in 
Sioux City. Here he was employed as a jour- 
ne^^nan for about two years and then began 
business for himself as a contractor and builder 
in 1891. During the years from 1893 until 
1896, inclusive, he did work throughout west- 
ern Iowa, Dakota, Ifebraska and southern Min- 
nesota, having a large and profitable business, 
so that in these sections of the cotintry are seen 
many substantial evidences of his handiwork. 
In more recent years he has devoted his atten- 
tion entirely to his building and other business 
operations in and around Sioux City and has 
secured a full share of the public patronage 
here. ^Ir. Keefe has not confined his attention 
entirely to his building operations, hut has 
extended his eflforts to another line, having in 
lOm established the ;N'ational "Wood Works 
and in the operation of this plant he employs 
forty-five men throughout the entire year. He 
is thus engaged in the manufacture of interior 
finishings and bank, store and oflice fixtures 
and furniture and the large number of work- 
men he employs is indicative of the extent of 
the product that he annually sends out and of 
the success which is attending him in the con- 
duct of this important industrial concern of 
Sioux City. 

On the 6th of September, 1893. Mr. Keefe 
was united in marriage to ^liss Hattie Lamb, 
of Sioux City, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. 
Lamb. She was horn in 1874 and by her mar- 
riage has become the mother of three children : 
]\Iildred A., John James and Virgil Jennings. 




J. J. KEEFE. 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBURY 001" NTY 



ALr. Keefe is a Democrat iu his political 
views and affiliations where national issnes are 
iiivolved, bnt locally eonsidei-s only the capabil- 
ity of the candidate and the questions which 
concern the welfare of his connniinity. He has 
never sought or desired public office for him- 
self, preferring to give his undivided attention 
to his business interests. He is, however, a 
member of Siotix City Lodge, 2\^o. 112, B. P. 
O. E., the Knights of Columbiis and Epiphany 
Council, ]!^o. 743. Eeligiously. both he and 
his wife are connected with the Epiphany Ca- 
thedral. 



CH-VELES E. GKEIXER. 

Charles E. Greiuer, deceased, was a native 
of Saxony, Germany, boi'n April 4, 1834-, and 
there was reared to manhood. He had good 
common-school advantages in the German lan- 
guage and after putting aside his text books he 
learned the glass-blower's trade. He was mar- 
ried there September 20, 1857, to Miss Augusta 
^filler, also a native of Saxony, and they began 
their domestic life in the fatherland. 

Three years later, in 1860, Mr. Greiner came 
to the new world, taking passage on a westward 
bound vessel at Hamburg. The voyage oc- 
cupied nine weeks and on the ISth of October, 
1860, he landed in New York. He did not 
tarry long, however, in the east, bnt thinking 
he might have better business opportunities in 
the middle west, he came to Iowa, joining some 
friends in Muscatine. There he sought employ- 
ment, doing anything he could get to do, for his 
financial circumstances were very limited and 
ir was necessary that he provide for his own 
support. Subsequently he removed to Cedar 
county and ptirchased some raw land, on which 
iip engaged in farming and burning lime. He 
s]ient three years there and his life of industry 
resulted in laying the foundation for his pres- 
ent success. In 1883 he removed to Wood- 
bnrv eountv and bouffht a tract of three hun- 



dred and sixty-live acres. This he broke and 
fenced. Acre after acre was placed under the 
plow and in due course of time rich harvests 
were gathered. He built a good house on the 
soiuh road, but later the dwelling was wrecked 
and other buildings on the place destroyed in 
a severe wind storm, so that he removed the 
house and buildings to a little valley, his home 
being on section 30, Union township. He had 
substantial improvements, good machinery and 
all modern accessories upon his place and indeed 
in its attractive appearance it is one of the 
pleasing features of the landscape. 

Unto Mr. and i[rs. Greiner were born seven 
children ; Frank, who is married and is a farm- 
er living in Correctionville, his father having 
given him one hundred and twenty acres of 
lanil : Albert, who is married and follows 
farming in Worth county, Missouri ; Edmond, 
who is married and resides near Correction- 
ville: John Paul, who is married and follows 
farming iu Union township; Mary, the wife of 
K. S. Milne, a harness-maker and prominent 
business man of Cushing; Anna, at home; and 
Charles, who is successfully carrying on the 
home farm. The three eldest children were 
born in Germany. 

Politically Mr. Greiner was a Democrat and 
cast his first presidential ballot for Samuel J. 
Tilden in 1876. His last vote, however, was 
cast for William McKinley, although his sup- 
port was usually given the Democracy. He 
served as supervisor of roads and helped to lay 
out and make the roads of his township. He 
was twice elected assessor of his township and 
in these public offices was found faithful and 
capable. He and his wife were reared in the 
Lutheran faith and were members of that 
church. The family have lived in Iowa for 
forty-four years and ^fr. Greiner helped to de- 
velop and improve Woodbury county and place 
it in its present position among the leading 
counties of the state. He was. however, a self- 
made man, whose life record is worthy of emu- 
lation. He came to America with no capital. 



654 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOUDBLKY COUJsTY 



save that he was willing to work and resol\-ed to 
make the most of his opportunities. As the 
years passed witli earnest labor as the founda- 
tion of success he gradually built up a com- 
fortable competence which enabled him to put 
aside business cares in later life. He died 
April 12, 1904, honored and respected by all 
who knew him and his remains were interred in 
the cemetery at Correct ionville. 



MAUISOX BARTLETT DAVIS. 

Madison Bartlett Davis, for thirty years a 
member of the Sioux City bar, his practice cou- 
tiued in later years to the federal courts, is a 
native of Xew Hampshire, his birth having oc- 
curred iu Cauaau, on the 12th of November, 
1838. His parents were Enoch and Susan 
(Tucker) Davis and the father followed the oc- 
cupation of farming, which had been the pur- 
suit of his ancestors through several genera- 
tions. 

^Madison B. Davis sujiplemented his early 
educational privileges by pursuing a course in 
the higher English branches in Salisbury, iSTew 
Hampshire, in 185G. He had been reared to 
the occupation of farming, early became 
an able assistant in the work of the farm 
and continued to aid in the cultivation of 
the fields until 1861. On the 26th of Au- 
gust of that year, in response to his coun- 
try's call for aid, he joined the First Xew 
England Cavalry and was mustered into 
the United States service on the ITth of Decem- 
ber, following. The name of the regiment was 
afterward changed to the First Regiment, 
Rhode Island Cavalry, IMarch 31, 1862, and 
became the First Xew Hampshire Cavalry 
January 5, 1864. On the 4th of July, of that 
vear, Mr. Davis re-enlisted, his first term of 
service having expired. He was taken prisoner 
June 16, 1863, and paroled on the 14th of 
July following, and exchanged July 14, 1863. 
He was agnin taken prisoner Xovember 12, 



1864, jjaroled January 5, 1865, and exchanged 
March 13, 1S65. He took 2)art in a number 
of the most important and hotly contested en- 
gagements of the war and was honorably dis- 
charged from the service May 16, 1865, as 
orderly sergeant. 

After his return from the war Mr. Davis 
removed with his family from Salisbury, Xew 
Hampshire, to Denmark, Iowa, where he 
worked on a farm for two years. On the ex- 
piration of that period he began reading law 
in the otfice of Hon. J. M. Casey, of Fort 
Madison, Iowa, in 1868, and thus pursued his 
studies for three years, after which he was ad- 
mitted to the bar in Lee county, Iowa, in 
December, 1871. He was admitted to the 
supreme court of the state, March 18, 1875, 
and to the supreme court of the United 
States, April 10, 1894. He removed to 
Sioux City, June 14, 1874, and has since been 
a reju-esentative of the legal fraternity, occupy- 
ing a prominent position among those whose 
talents have added to the fame of the legal 
history of northwestern Iowa. In recent years 
he has confined his attention to practice in the 
federal courts and has a distinctively represen- 
tative clientage. The important character of 
his professional duties has called forth his 
latent talents and developed his powers and his 
strong intellectual force and keen analytical 
powers have made him one of the alile prac- 
titioners at the federal bar in Iowa. 

'Mr. Davis was married September 6, 1857, 
to ^liss Rhoda Pingree Dunlap, of Danbury, 
Xew Hampshire. She was a daughter of David 
C. Dunlap, who died when she was nine months 
old, a granddaiighter of Hon. Stephen Pingree, 
of Salisbury, Xew Hamiishire, a niece of 
Colonel S. E. Pingree, of Hartford. Vermont, 
former governor of that state, and a relative of 
the Pingree family, prominent in both ^ er- 
nionf and ]\riehigan. ^Fr. and ^frs. Davis had 
one daughter and two sons: Xellio R(ix;inna. 
who was born August 17, 1858, and died 
December 25, 1891 ; William Madison, who 





'/r 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



657 



was born Xovember 2(i, ISOO, and ilieil Angiist 
Ifl, 180-1: ; and William Edgar, who was born 
August 27, 1S6T. He was married to Ilellcn 
Egan, June y, 1S!»1. Their children are Willie 
Pingree, born August 7, 18y2, and Marion 
Evelyn, born December 22, 18115. 

j\Ir. Davis became a memljer of the Odd Fel- 
lows society December 28, 1868, and has held 
several important official positions in the sub- 
ordinate lodge and the grand lodge, being a rep- 
resentative to the latter. He belongs to the 
Grand Army of the Republic, becoming a char- 
ter member of General Hancock Post, No. 22, 
and was department commander of Iowa in 
1900. He belongs to no religious organization 
but attends the Baptist church. He is one to 
whom his fellow men instictivelv pay defer- 
ence, because he has gained social and profes- 
sional prominence withoiit ostentation or self- 
laudation, and because his course has ever been 
in harmony with high business ideals and has 
lieon a factor in promoting more advanced 
ethical relations in various departments of ac- 
tivity which constitute the life of the vast ma- 
jority. 



ARTHUR SAMUEL GARRETSON. 

Arthur Samuel Garretson is distinctively a 
man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide 
inflTience. He has been the promoter of many 
of the leading business enterprises of Sioux 
City, where he has made his home for thirty 
years. His entire accomplishment represents 
the result of the fit utilization of the innate 
talent which is his and the directing of his 
affairs along those lines where mature judg- 
ment and rare discrimination have led the way. 
His enterprises, too, have been of a character 
that, while advancing individual success, have 
also contributed in large measure to the gen- 
eral prosperity and progress of the city and 
without invidioiis distinction Mr. Garretson 
may well he classed among the foremost rep- 
resentatives of Woodliury county. 



A native of Ohio, his birth occurred in ^[or- 
gan county November 7, 1851, and in the 
spring of 1874 he arrived in Sioux City, then 
a young man of about twenty-three years. The 
rapidly growing west, with its excellent busi- 
ness opportunities, attracted him, as he wished 
to find here full scope for his energy, deter- 
mination and ambition. In 1876 he accepted 
a position as teller in the First National Bank, 
where he remained until 1880, when he or- 
ganized the Sioux National Bank and became 
its cashier, acting in that capacity continuoiisly 
until January 1, 1890. His recognition of 
opportunity has been one of the salient features 
in his success. With a comprehensive under- 
standing of business conditions and possibilities 
he has so directed his efforts that he has been 
the promoter of many of the leading concerns 
of this part of the state. He was one of the 
five men who built the Sioux City & Northern 
Railroad, constructing the terminals in this city 
in 1889-90. He was associated with four oth- 
ers who established and built up the Union 
Stock Yards in 1887 and he was connected 
with the constn;ction of both the bridges acros=» 
the Missouri river. He was one of the or- 
ganizers of the Boston Investment Company, 
which invested over two million dollars in 
Sioux City, thus adding greatly to its improve- 
ment and to its ujibuilding along material and 
substantial lines. He assisted in the construc- 
tion of the Garretson Hotel and the Iowa Bank 
block and was one of the promoters of the 
ilorningside College and also of the City Li- 
brary biiilding. Tireless energy, keen percep- 
tion, honesty of purpose and a genius for de- 
vising and executing the right thing at the 
right time are numbered among his chief char- 
acteristics. 

In 1878 Mr. Garretson was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Belle R. Smith, a daughter of 
O. A. Smith, of Sioux City, and unto them 
have been born eight children. Both Mr. and 
Mrs. Garretson are members of the Baptist 
church and his iioliticnl allecriance is s;iven to 



658 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



the Democracy, but while he takes an active 
interest in political affairs it is an impersonal 
one, for he cares not for the honors or emolu- 
ments of office, content to do his duty as a 
private citizen. He is, however, public spirit- 
ed and thoroughly interested in whatever tends 
to promote the moral, intellectual and material 
welfare of his adopted county. 



JOSEPH BERNARD. 



Joseph Bernard, who follows general farm- 
ing and stock-raising, has during his residence 
in Woodbury county made for himself an hon- 
ored name and gained a handsome competence. 
He was born in Lower Canada on the 2-ith of 
November, 1841, a son of Alexander Bernard, 
who was also a native of that country. His 
paternal grandfather, Raphael Bernard, was a 
native of Prance and after emigrating to the 
neAV world established his home in Chamble dis- 
trict in Canada. He was one of four l^rothers, 
to whom was given a large grant of land in that 
county, the gift being received from XajDoleon 
Bonaparte. Some of this is still in possession 
of some of the members of the Bernard family. 
Alexander Bernard was reared in the place of 
his nativity and when he had reached adult age 
he married Sophia Soinere, who was born in 
France. 

Joseph Bernard, whose name introduces 
this record, was reared on the old homestead 
farm in Canada imtil fifteen years of age, when 
he started out in life on his own account, learn- 
ing the carpenter's and joiner's trade, at which 
he worked for a number of years or until he had 
attained the age of thirty-two years. He first 
came to the United States in 1858, locating in 
Connecticut when a youth of seventeen, and he 
was employed in carpentering in Hartford for 
five years. During the period of the Civil \var 
he made his way westward to Chicago, Illinois, 
and was there employed in carpentering until 
1872. Soon after the great fire in that city he 



journeyed to Jefferson, Dakota, where he 
turned his attention to agriculttiral pursuits, 
carrying on farming for several years or until 
1870. In that year he came to Woodbury 
county, Iowa, where he first purchased forty 
acres of land. There were no improvements, 
but he possessed strong purpose and laudable 
determination and be transformed the wild 
prairie into richly productive fields, and as his 
financial resources increased he purchased more 
land from time to time iintil there are now two 
hundred and forty acres within the home place. 
He also owns another farm of one hundred and 
twenty acres and he has purchased land which 
he has given to his children. He has given to 
each of his two sons one hundred and sixty 
acres of good land and thus aided them in mak- 
ing an excellent start in life. Upon his home- 
stead he has erected a substantial residence and 
built two commodious barns. He has stock 
scales and the latest imj^roved machinery, to- 
gether with many other modern equipments. 
His fields produce good crops and in his pas- 
tures are seen high graded stock. He is now 
breeding and dealing in Norman and thorough- 
bred horses and in the year 1903 he won a first 
premium on a year-old thoroughbred colt weigh- 
ing nine himdred and sixty pounds. He also 
fattens cattle for the market and annually ships 
about two carloads of cattle and two of hogs 
and one of sheep. 

While residing in Chicago Mi*. Bernard was 
married on the 14tli of July, 1866, to Miss 
Martha Gratton, who was born and reared in 
Montreal, Canada. She w^as to him a faithful 
companion and helpmate on life's journey for 
many years, but passed away in 1889. Eight 
children had been born \into them, of whom 
seven are now living: Henry, who is married 
and follows farming in Wolf Creek to^vnship; 
John, a farmer of the same township ; James, at 
home ; Martha, the wife of Peter Ladoe, of 
Anthon ; Maggie, the wife of Charles Coyle, a 
resident farmer of Licking Valley, Iowa ; 
Sojihia, who is acting as her father's house- 




JOSEPH BEBNAKD AXD FAMILY. 



PAST AXD PEESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



661 



keeper: and Rosa. Avho is in St. Vincent's 
Home. Tliev lost a son, Horace, who died at 
the age of eleven years. 

In his political atKliations IMr. Bernard is a 
Democrat and served for six years as supervisor 
of highways, but has never been an active poli- 
tician in the sense of oiiice seeking. He was 
reared in the (^atholic faith and attends the 
church of that denomination in Anthon. When 
he came to Iowa he was not only empty-handed, 
but was not aided to any extent and the years 
which have since come and gone have been years 
of labor. He has never been knoA\Ti to take ad- 
vantage of the necessities of his fellow men in 
any trade transaction, bnt has labored persist- 
ently with ambition to win success, and his 
prosperity is the honest reward of good manage- 
ment, energv and laudable ambition. 



CYEUS A. CRAWFOED. 

Cyrus A. Crawford, a resident farmer of 
Wolf Creek to^^'uship, his home being on section 
IT, is well known as a reliable, energetic busi- 
ness man, being extensively engaged in the 
breeding of red polled cattle, which he raises 
upon his farm, comprising four hundred acres 
of well improved land. He came to Iowa in 
1870 and took up his abode in Woodbury 
county in 1883. His birth occurred in Holmes 
county, Ohio, on the 31st of January, 1847, and 
he represents one of the oldest families of the 
Empire state. His paternal grandfather. Wood 
Crawford, was a native of Xew York, and there 
also occurred the birth of Alfred W. Crawford. 
The latter removed to Pennsylvania and was 
married there to Lydia Andrews, a native of 
the Keystone state. Removing to Ohio, they 
located in Holmes county, where ^Mr. Crawford 
died in 1851. His widow survived him and 
reared her family, doing a mother's full duty 
toward her children. She had eight children: 
Seneca, who died in 1887 : Ezra : Alfred : Cyrus 
A. : Elmira and Asoneth, both deceased ; Susan, 



the wife of Samuel Harrison, of Kansas; and 
Parthenia, the wife of R. S. Clancy, of Kansas. 

Cyrus A. Crawford was a farmer boy in 
Ohio and in his youth became familiar with the 
various duties and labors that fall to the lot of 
the agriculturist. When the work of the farm 
was practically over for the year he would at- 
tend the public schools and thtis he acquired a 
fair English education. In his nineteenth year 
he sought and won a helpmate for life's jour- 
ney, being married on the 4th of October, 1866, 
to Miss Mary J. Kerr, a native of Ohio and a 
daughter of Andrew J. Kerr, whose birth oc- 
curred in Wayne county, that state. After 
their marriage !Mr. Crawford engaged in farm- 
ing in Ohio for abottt four years and in ]^ovem- 
ber, 1869, he came to Iowa, settling first in Ce- 
dar county, where he devoted his energies to 
agricultural pursuits until 1884. He then 
came to Woodbury county and established his 
home upon the farm, where he now resides, be- 
coming the owner of a quarter section of land. 
This portion of the state was still largely an 
unimpi'oved district and many of the hardships 
and privations of the frontier life were to be 
met, but ifr. Crawford persevered in his work 
and year after year saw improvements added 
to his farm, while his financial success grad- 
ually increased. He has erected a good house 
and later built substantial barn and sheds. He 
jjlanted an orchard, also a grove of shade trees 
and has developed his property until its im- 
provements are surpassed by but few in the 
coTinty. He has also extended the boundaries 
of his farm by additional purchases from time 
to time and he now owns four hundred acres in 
one body. In addition to general farming he 
raises good grades of stock. About 1900 he pur- 
chased a herd of red polled pure blooded regis- 
tered cattle and now has seventeen head, in- 
cluding a fine btill, which is a registered animal. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Crawford has 
been blessed with eight children, of whom six 
are now living: W. A., who is an enterprising 
farmer of Wolf Creek tnwnshi]i ; Clara, who is 



662 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



the wife of Horace Hall, a farmer of [Miller 
township; O. A. C'rawfonl, who is living in 
Kittson county, Minnesota; Fauuie, the wife 
of A. M. Williams of iloville township, Wood- 
bury county; Effie and Clark, at home. One 
son, Ervy, met death by accident when about 
nineteen years of age, and a daughter. Faith, 
died when about fourteen months old. 

Mr. Crawford is a very stanch advocate of 
the cause of temperance and for a number of 
years has given his political su])port to the Pro- 
hibition party. He has served as commissioner 
of highways and is a believer in good roads and, 
in fact, advocates practical improvements along 
all modern lines. While serving on the school 
board for a nimibcr of years he did effective 
service in behalf of the cause of education. He 
and his wife are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, in which he has served as an 
officer and tlie.\- are people of unquestioned re- 
liability and in their lives exemplify their 
Christian faith. Mr. Crawford is, indeed, an 
honorable man, supporting all measures which 
he believes will elevate his fellow men and uni- 
form regard is accorded him in recognition of 
his integrity and his vmfaltering fidelity to 
everv dutv. 



LEONARD L. KELLOGG. 

Leonard L. Kellogg was born in Haverhill, 
Scioto county, Ohio, in 1856, and is a son of 
William and Thurza (Storey) Kellogg, the 
foi'mer a native of New England and the lat- 
ter of Scioto coiinty, Ohio. 

On the 19th of September, 1883, Mr. Kel- 
logg was married to Miss Lizzie Pritchard, of 
Ironton, Ohio, a daughter of John Pritchard, 
who was superintendent of the Lawrence Roll- 
ing mills at that place. They have one child, 
Alice ]\Lirie. ^Irs. Kclloog's cordial hospital- 
ity and genial manner have won for her many 
friends in Sioux City. 

In the district schools Leonard L. Kellogg 



acquired his education and then entered the 
olfice of the Ironton Gas Company as an errand 
boy when seventeen years of age. He was am 
bilious and resolute, however, and improved 
every opportunity to master business principles 
and to advance in a business career. Gradually 
he worked his way upward, his worth finding 
ready recognition, and at the end of his eight 
years' connection with the company he was 
serving as superintendent of the plant. At 
the age of twenty-five years he resigned his 
jjosition and went to Galena, Illinois, as super- 
intendent of the Galena Gas Company, but 
after six months spent in that city he removed 
to Nebraska City, jSTebraska, where he rebuilt 
the gas works and continued in charge at that 
place for a year and a half. In 188-1 he came 
to Sioux City to take charge of the Sioux City 
gas works and in 1889 was given charge of 
the Sioux City electric light works. In 1901 
the two companies were consolidated and Mr. 
Kellogg became vice-president and manager, 
in which cajiaeity he is now serving. He has 
develciped this enterprise, following modern 
methods, and a liberal patronage has been ac- 
corded by reason of efficient service given to 
the public. 

He has also been interested in other busi- 
ness concerns which have contributed in large 
measure to the commercial activity and con- 
sequent prosperity of this pai-t of the state, and 
is nn active member of the Sioux City Com- 
iiicrcial Club, of which he has been the presi- 
dent for the past two years. His political sup- 
])ort is given the Rep\iblican party and lie was 
a member of the state commission appointed 
for the building of the Cherokee Insane Asy- 
hiiii. his appointment coming from Governor 
Drake. He is classed to-day among the fore- 
must of the representative men of Sioux City, 
having been engaged in active business here 
for many years and having taken an interested 
]iart in commercial and social affairs of the 
place. Tie has fostered numerous local indus- 
tries and has contributed of his means and in- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



665 



fluence to various undertakings calculated to 
benefit the city. Viewed in a personal light he 
is a man whose qualities have gained him strong 
friendships and high regard. 



MARCUS C. BOGUE. 

Marcus C. Bogue, formerly a representative 
of mercantile interests and now of the real 
estate business in Sioux City, has through a 
recognition and utilization of business oppor- 
tunities made his way from amid humble sur- 
roundings to a position of affluence and has 
found that industry is the key which unlocks 
the portals of success. His name is now a fa- 
miliar one in the commercial life of northwest- 
ern Iowa and his history can not fail to prove 
of interest to many of our readers, as he has 
a very wide acquaintance and as his life rec- 
ord proves the value of diligence and energy. 

The name was originally spelled Booge, but 
in 1723 descendants changed the form to 
Bogue, although branches of the family still 
retain the original spelling. The family from 
which he is descended is of Scotch lineage. 
The first Bogue to settle in this country came 
from Glasgow, Scotland, and located at Had- 
line, on the Connecticut river. He had ten 
children, the youngest being the Rev. Ebenezer 
Bogue, who was graduated from Yale College 
with the class of 1747 and died in 1767, leav- 
ing a family of seven children. He was sixty- 
one years of age at the time of his demise and 
was survived by his widow, five sons and two 
daughters. Aaron Bogue, the eldest son, also 
was a graduate of Yale College and became a 
clergyman. Oliver Bogue, the third son, was 
the grandfather of Marcus C. Bogue and he 
served his country as a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary war with the rank of orderly sergeant. 

Alexander Bogue, the fourth son of Oliver, 
was born in PIttsford, Vermont, in 1792 and 
died in the year 1842. He also proved his 
Invaltv to his countrv bv military service, be- 



ing a soldier of the war of 1812. In days of 
peace he followed the occupation of farming. 
He married Miss Hannah Stanton, of Essex, 
Vermont, and died July 5, 1839, at the age 
of forty years. In their family were eight 
children, of whom Marcus C. Bogue, the fourth 
in order of birth, is the only one now living. 
The others were Mary, who died at the age 
of four years ; Oliver, who was a soldier of the 
Civil war in the Second Vermont Battery; 
Henry Stanton, a manufacturer who died at 
Cohoes, New York, in 1886; Franklin Alex- 
ander, who died in Chittenden, Vermont, in 
1879 ; George, who died in Sioux City in 1874; 
Lucy A., the deceased wife of James M. Cox, 
of Mississippi ; and Mary Ann, who died at 
the age of three years. 

Marcus C. Bogue was born in Canton, St. 
Lawrence county, New Y'ork, on the 18th of 
July, 1827. His educational privileges were 
somewhat limited and yet in early manhood he 
had made such intellectual progress that he was 
enabled to teach in Rutland, Vermont, and in 
his home district, following that profession for 
four years, from 1845 until 1848, inclusive. 
He afterward engaged in clerking in a store 
and later embarked in business for himself in 
Rutland, Vermont, entering into partnership 
with R. R. Mead. They successfully conduct- 
ed a general mercantile establishment for four 
years and Mr. Bogue then sold his interest on 
account of poor health. About that time he 
removed to Cohoes, ISTew York, where he be- 
gan dealing in lumber, coal and wood, follow- 
ing that pursuit for two years. On the expira- 
tion of that period he went to West Troy, New 
York, where he conducted a foundry business, 
taking charge of this because it was left upon 
his hands by one who owed him some money. 
The first year, however, he sold a half interest 
in the business and the second year sold out 
entirely. He then purchased the Pittsford 
mills at Pittsford, Vermont, which he sold in 
1866 and in that year he bought a farm of 
two hundred acres, on which was a fine brick 



666 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



mansion. There he carried on agricultural 
pursuits luitil his health failed and in IS 70 
he sold his farm proiJerty and came to the 
middle west. 

It was in that year that -Mr. Eogue arrived 
in Sioux City and became a factor in its busi- 
ness life hj establishing a mercantile enter- 
prise. In this he was associated with M. C. 
Davis, and others, conducting the business un- 
der the firm style of Bogue, Davis & Company. 
Not long after, however, Mr. Bogue purchased 
Mr. Davis' interest and enlarged the business, 
removing to more spacious quarters at the cor- 
ner of Pearl and Fourth streets, while in 1871 
he built a commodious store. Mr. Davis, his 
former partner, was partly interested in this 
biiilding. After conducting his mercantile en- 
terprise for a time Mr. Bogue ceased to deal 
in general merchandise and confined his enter- 
prise to the wholesale boot and shoe trade, in 
which he continued until 18S9, when he retired 
permanently from merchandising and is now 
giving his attention to the real estate business. 
He handles much valuable property, has made 
extensive pTirchases and sales and has negoti- 
ated many important real estate transfers. 
During his connection with the business he has 
also built niimerous houses. 

On the 29th of ^^ovember, 1849, Mr. Bogue 
was imited in marriage to Miss Sarah Giddings, 
of Eutland, Vermont, and a daughter of Elijah 
Smith and Lydia (Powers) Giddings. Theirs 
has been a most happy and congenial married 
life and their union has been blessed with five 
children: l^^ary C. : Helen, who for a time 
was a teacher in the schools of Sioux City 
and was afterward in charge of the postal order 
department in the Sioux City postoffiee, but 
died in 1890 at the age of thirty-two years; 
George H., who is living in Denver, Colorado, 
in charge of the railway to Port Logan ; Sarnh 
Jane, the wife of W. if. King, of Spokane, 
Washington ; and John Cook, who is proprietor 
of the Bogue's Pni]"ilovuient .\gency nt Pneblo. 
Colorado. 



The life history of Mr. l]i)gue is another 
l^roof of the fact that there are no rules for 
building characters or for achieving success. 
The man who can rise from the ranks to a 
position of eminence is he who can see and util- 
ize the opportunities that svirround his path. 
The essential conditions of human life are ever 
the same and the surroundings of imli\i(lii:ds 
ditfcr but slightly and therefore when one man 
passes another on the highway to reach tlie 
goal of prosperity before those who perhaps 
started out ahead of him it is because he has 
the power to use advantages which probably 
encompass the whole himian race. To-day 
among the prominent men of northwest Iowa 
stands Mr. Bogue and his position is due to the 
exercise of his inherent talents and the utili- 
zation of surroimding conditions which he has 
shaped to his own piirpose. 



JOSEPH PARKER. 



Joseph Parker, who is engaged in general 
farming on section 25, Banner township, is a 
native of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred 
in Milwaukee, J\ily 16, 18-19. His parents 
were Ira and Harriet (Hill) Parker. The 
father was born in Detroit, Michigan, removed 
thence to Milwaiikee, Wisconsin, and after sev- 
eral years he came to Iowa, casting in his lot 
with the pioneer settlers of Lemars. There he 
secured a homestead claim and at once began 
to cultivate his land, on which not a furrow had 
been turned or an improvement made up to the 
time when he took possession of it. For many 
years he continued to improve it, making it a 
valuable property. His death occurred about 
fifteen years ago, when he had reached the age 
of fifty-nine years. His wife, who Avas a native 
of England and who gave him her hand in 
marriage in ililwaukee, still survives him and 
is now living at the age of sixty-five years. 
Tiioy were the parents of six children, five of 
wliiiiii are living. 




I 



JOSEPH PARKER. 




MKS. JOSEPH PAP.KEE. 



PAST AND IMJK^^'ENT OF WO()DBi;j(Y COINTY 



671 



Joscpli Parker, tlic eldest ef tlie family, 
was (inly twelve or thirteen years of age when 
lie started out to cam his own living and since 
that time he has depended solely upon his labors 
for all that he has possessed and enjoyed, lie 
was emplov(>d as a farm hand for some time 
and when twenty-one years of age he came to 
Iowa, locating in Plymouth county, purchas- 
ing a farm near Lemars. There lie carried on 
general agricultural ]nirsuits for about six 
years, and on the expiration of that period he 
sold his property there and purchased his ]ires- 
ent farm on section -'>, Banner lownship, 
Woodbury coimty. Jlere he has one linndred 
and twenty acres of land, constituting one of 
the fine farms of the county. He has placed it 
under a high state of cultivation and in his 
farm methods he is practical and ]irogressi\-e, 
so that excellent results have attended his 
labors. Pie certainly deserves great credit for 
what he has accomplished, as he has been st'lf- 
supporting from early boyhood and has bnilded 
his success upon energy, perseverance and 
straightforward deali ng. 

On Christmas day of ISSO Mv. Parker was 
married to Miss Hannah Long, a native; of ^^'is 
consin and a daughtin- of Isaac and Hannah 
(Devore) Long, who came to Iowa thirty-ti\e 
years ago in its pioneer days and is still living 
at the age of ninety years, making his home in 
Moville. The mother died when Mrs. Parker 
was about eight years of age. Unto ^Ir. and 
Mrs. Parker ha\'e been liorn six children, all 
of whom are living, namely: James, born 
March .ol, 1882 ; Arza, born November iMl, 
1883; Albert, born November 13, 1885; Eloisc, 
born November 13, 1888; Lcnnie Ester, born 
November !), 1892; and Cora, born June 3, 
1805. 

Mr. Parker is deeply intereste(l in the edu- 
cational progress of bis ccmunnnity and has 
rendered etfective service in behalf of the 
schools. Although reared in the faith of the 
Democratic party, his father having been one 
of its supjiorters, he is a stanch Pepnblican, 



but has always refuseil to hold oHice. The fam- 
ily are members of the United Brethren church. 
In matters of eilizeiisbip he is ever progressive 
ami loyal and he takes just pride in what has 
been accom|ilisbed in liis adopt. ■(! county. His 
life has been cpiietly passed in the pursuits of 
business, and yet his history is one \\-hicli is 
well worthy of conimeiKlalion ami eniulalitm. 



KK'UAi:!) ('. A. Ul.OUPtNOY. 

Richard L'. A. Flonrnoy was born at Pa- 
dncah, Kentucky, .Inly 1)1, 1853. He is a 
descendant of old \\ell known Kentucky fam- 
ilies, and ihongh not disposed in this ^vestern 
country to consider that the family makes the 
man, has reason to be proml of his ancestral 
record. He is the son of Lafayette M. Flour- 
iioy and his wife, Elizabeth Anderson. (!en- 
eral Kobert .\nderson, the hero of Fort Stim- 
ter was her micle, and the noted (ieorge 
Rogers Clark and Governor William Clark, of 
the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-5 up 
the Missouri, were her great-nncles. ^Ir. 
Flonrnoy's grandfalhei-, Uicliard C. .\n<lerson, 
was a niemlier of congress and was minister to 
Columbia ninli'r appointment from two presi- 
dents, and ilied at P.ogota, Columbia, in 1826. 

Mr. Flonrnoy was prepared for college at 
(ianiliia, Ohio, ami was graduated there at 
Kenyon College in 1ST4, taking high rank, 
tliereli\- becoming eligible to and becoming a 
member of the noted college fraternity of Phi 
lieta Kap])a. He came to Iowa in ISC,.") and 
resided at Clinton, being engaged there in the 
real estate business. He was married in 1887 
to ]\Iiss "Mary IT. Gage, a daughter of James 
P. Gage, banker and ca]iitalist of Clinton, 
L.wa. 

Mr. Elournoy liad moved to Rioux City, 
Iowa, in 1881, and lias resided here ever since, 
being engaged, as at Clinton, cliieny in the real 
estate business. P>eside his own, he has rep- 
reseut(>d laree interests of non-resident own- 



672 



PAST AND I'KESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



ers. He is a well known and nincli respected 
citizen and has been identitied with many 
liiiaiiciiil eiitrrjiriscs. 



oscAu oLvoiM) TOLiarroN. 

Oscar Olvord Tolertou, who has found in 
the freedom and ajipreciation of the great grow- 
ing western portion of our country ilic oppor- 
tunities he sought for business advancement 
lias made cdnl iiuious progress commensurate 
with the development of the state, in which, as 
a representative of commercial interests, he 
has figured since 1868. For almost twenty 
years he has been at the head of a wholesale 
grocery house of Sioux City, and his trade in 
its ramifying branches reaches to a "wide ter- 
ritory, making this one of the leading mercan- 
tile enterprises of the state. 

A native of Ohio, ]\Ir. Tolerton was born 
in Salem, Cohunbiana county, March 22, 1845, 
a son of Hill and Lucy Mary (Warner) Tol- 
erton. His mother was a direct descendant of 
an old .Mayflower family. He is descended in 
the paternal line from Irish ancestry of the 
Quaker faith. His grandfather, James Toler- 
ton, was born in the northern part of Ireland 
in the year 1778, of Quaker parentage, and on 
coming to America located in Columbiana 
county, Ohio. He was one of the leaders in the 
work of surveying and naming the town of Sa- 
lem, in 1808, and he contributed to its sub- 
stantial improvement through his hearty co- 
operation in every movement that he deemed of 
benefit to the embryo city. His influence was 
felt in the social, political and moral life of the 
to^vn as well, and he was a firm believer in the 
Quaker faith, his religion being manifest in 
his honorable dealings with his fellow men in 
every relation of life. He died in Salem at 
the advanced age of ninety-three years, and his 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Frances 
Douglas and was born in Scotland, in 1776, 
died in Salem, Ohio, at the age of eighty-five 



years. Her fallicr was (jf llie noted Douglils 
family, pniuiincntly mcntitnied in the history 
of Scotland. 

Hill Tolerton, \>nvn in Salem, Ohio, January 
12, 1812, was a farmer, and, clearing a tract of 
land, develo])ed an excellent farm, upon which 
he ]iractically spent his entire life, covering 
eighty years. He died February 8, 1892. He 
was a man of unassailable character and over 
the rccoril uf his ]inblic career and his private 
life there fell no shadow or wrong or suspicion 
iif evil. Tpnii his dcaihbcil he said: ''I have 
lived all my \i{v Iiere and no man can truth- 
fully say I ever wronged him oiit of one cent or 
deceived him in any way.'" The words of the 
old philosoj)her, "An honest man is the noblest 
work of God" might be fittingly inscribed upon 
his tomb. His wife, a well educated woman of 
her day and a fine Christian character, largely 
devoted her leisure time to reading, and she 
])ossessed a very retentive memm'v, so that her 
convei'sation was enriched with excerpts from 
the master minds of literature. 

Oscar O. Tolerton, having acquired his pre- 
liminary education in the public schools of 
Salem, Ohio, spent the scholastic year of 1866 
in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, as a student in the 
business college of P. Duff & Sons. He was 
reared amid the refining influence of a good 
hcinie, where morality and intellectuality were 
justly rated and where the value of character 
was a lesson sti'ongly impressed upon the minds 
of the children. The father was a strict dis- 
ci])linariau and commanded the highest respect 
of his sons and daughters. When not engaged 
with the duties of the schoolroom Oscar Toler- 
ton was instructed in the work of the farm, but 
believing that commercial pursuits would prove 
more congenial to him, he started in life on his 
own account when twenty-three years of age. 
flaking his way westward he first located at 
Webster City, Iowa, where he became a mem- 
ber of firm of Wilson, Funk & Company, gen- 
eral merchants, but in the spring of 1875 he 
sold his interest in that store and removed to 




(9 <§ f^^^.r=[^ 



PAST AND I'HK.SENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



675 



Biirlingtou, Iowa, where he engaged in the 
wholesale grocery husiness under the firm name 
of Bell, Tolerton & Company. He sold out 
there to seek a larger field and located at Sioux 
City, Iowa, Sej^tember 1, 1885. Here he iniv- 
chased the grocery business of E. C. Palmer & 
Company, and with his business associates 
formed the Tolerton & Stetson Company, of 
which he is still a member. In trade circles in 
the northwest the name of this house is famil- 
iar, and the volume of its business — developed 
along modern jirogressive lines and by honor- 
able methods — has reached proportions that 
classes, the house with the leading wholesale 
grocery establishments of this part of the coun- 
try. 

Following in the political footsteps of his 
father and grandfather, Mr. Tolerton became a 
Democrat when age gave to him the right of 
franchise, and he adhei-ed to that political faith 
until 1896, when he voted with the Gold-Demo- 
crats. As the Democratic platform of 1904, 
however, again endorses the old money basis of 
the country, he is now allied w-ith the national 
Democratic party. He was made a ]\Iason in 
Webster City, Iowa, in 1869, and now affiliates 
with Tyrian Lodge and Columbia Commandery 
of Sioux City. His ffither being a Quaker and 
his mother a Methodist, he was reared in a 
Christian atmosj^here and is a believer in the 
Christian religion, although he is not a member 
of any denomination nor does he adhere to any 
particular creed. 

Mr. Tolerton was married at Btirlington, 
Iowa, April 12, 1877, to Miss Frances G. Kob- 
inson, a daughter of James Robinson, of Bur- 
lington, Iowa, formerly of Midway, Ohio. Her 
great-grandfather Robinson was in the Revolu- 
tionary army and the coat which he wore is still 
in possession of the family. Her grandfather 
served in the war of 1812, and Dr. Wither- 
spoon, her great-uncle in the maternal line, was 
one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, ilr. and Mrs. Tolerton have two 
children: ^frs. Luc^- Tolerton Searlc, living in 



Lincoln, Nebraska, and Hill Dwight Tolerton, 
wlii) married Miss Genevieve Hess, daughter 
of Dr. S. II. Lless, of Sioux City, and is now 
associated with his father in business. 

Mr. Tolerton is and has been distinctively a 
nmn of affairs and one who has wielded a wide 
influence. While promoting his individual in- 
tei-ests in a manner to produce substantial 
growth ami gratifying financial resiilts, he has 
always been watchful of any indications point- 
ing to the development and permanent benefit 
of his adopted city, and his co-operation is often 
an influencing factor to secitre to any public 
movement the weight of sui)])ort necessary to 
its success. 



RICHAKl) MlbLAUl) DOTT. 

Richard milliard l)<ilt, a well known member 
of the Sioux City bar, is a native of Anamosa, 
Iowa, born April 12, 1858. His parents were 
Judge Robert and Sarah J. (Peters) Dott. 
His father was a native of Cupar, Fifeshire, 
Scotland, and came to the United States when 
sixteen years of age. Arriving in this state in 
1856, he located in Jones county, where he oc- 
cupied several ofiices including the position of 
justice of the peace, county auditor and mayor. 
In 1883 he removed to Hanson county. South 
Dakota, where he is now filling the position of 
county judge, making his home at Alexandria. 
His wife is a native of Fulton county, New 
York, and is of English lineage, her ancestors 
having come to America prior to the Revolu- 
tionary war. Several representatives of the 
name were soldiers in the Patriot army and 
others have attained fame in different direc- 
tions. Richard M. Dott, of this review, is the 
eldest of three brothers, the others being Robert 
T., a physician of Salem, South Dakota; and 
George M., who is engaged in the practice of 
dentistry in that city. 

Richard Millard Dott began his education in 
Anamosa, Iowa, and when he had completed 



67(j 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



tile pulilic-seliddl course entered the University 
of j\lieliigan, graduating in the law department 
with the class of 1884, and immediately after- 
ward he went to Bridgewater, Dakota. Later 
he removed to Alexandria, South Dakota, 
where he continued in the practice of law until 
the fall of 1880, when he came to Sioux City 
and entereil intu partnership with Captain J. 
S. Lothro]). This relationship was maintained 
for two years, at the end of which time j\Ir. 
Dott withdrew and accepted the position of note 
clerk in the Iowa Savings Bank, acting in that 
capacity for two and a half years. He then 
resiimed the practice of law, in which he has 
continued with sticcess. He was also one of 
the organizers of the Home Telephone Com- 
pany and of the real estate board and is now 
president of the Iowa Cement Brick Company, 
so that he has become identified with interests 
which add to the prosperity of the community 
by augmenting its commercial and industrial 
interests. 

In 1885 occurred the marriage of ]Mr. Dott 
and Hiss Delia Rood, a daughter of Henry C. 
and Ann (Clark) Rood, of Lapeer, Michigan. 
Their children are Agnes, llaude and Robert 
Henry. In 1902 Mr. Dott was made a ^Mason 
in the lodge of Sioux City and he also holds 
membership relations with the ]^^oderu Wood- 
men of .\nierica and the Royal Arcanum. He 
gives his jwlitical all(\siiance to the Repulilican 
party and in ISllfi was secretary of the county 
central committee. He was secretary of the 
school board of Sioux City for nine years and 
is now n member of the board, having been 
elected to rhat ])osition in 1904. 



s. R. Lnws. 

If there ever was a time in the history of the 
world's affairs when the man who is possessed 
with new ideas was eagerlv sought after and 
paid well for the ideas when found, the present 
is the time and America is the place. The man 



with the idea is the man the entire country is 
looking for and he who can make good with 
something brand new along this line is the 
])erson every branch of industry and business 
is seeking. The difficulty with the man with 
an idea is generally in lack of ability to place 
it, but when he has overcome this obstacle and 
found tlie j)roper market for the jiroducts of 
liis brain tiie rest is all plain, easy sailing, and 
he is fixed financially for life — or as long as 
Ills stock of ideas holds out. 

Of all things in this vast domain which are 
offered as an investment for our money there 
are none that equal real estate in point of secu- 
rity and actual value. The man having formed 
the idea of investing his money in real estate 
is absohttely safe: it can not burn up or blow 
away, and, if bought wisely, is sure to be con- 
stantly increasing in value. 

The land is the basis of all wealth and offers 
the only absolutely safe basis for investment. 
There are no better chances anywhere for safe 
and profitable investment of money than in 
real estate purchases. They represent the real 
and actual business conditions of every cotintry 
and are a sure indication of their state of pros- 
perity iir adversity, as the case may be. The 
progressive real estate agent of to-day is a bless- 
ing to both buyer and seller. He keeps posted 
on those who have property to sell and those 
who wish to buy, and by bringing them together 
performs good service to both. 

S. R. Lucas, one of the genial and popular 
citizens of Anthon, wliere he is engaged in the 
real estate and loan business, has contributed 
to the development and progress of his eom- 
mtinity through active co-operation in public 
affairs and at the same time has been conduct- 
ing his private business interests as to win cred- 
italile and ilesiral)le success. He has gained the 
good will of liis fellow men, living a worthy 
and honorable life and as such certainly de- 
serves re]iresentation in this volume. 

Mr. Lucas is one of Iowa's native sons, his 




MR. AND MRS. S. E. LLX'AS. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUliY COUNTY 



679 



birth having occurred in Fremont county, on 
the loth of June, 1866. His father, Martin 
V. Lucas, was a native of Illinois, born in 
Sangamon county, and was a son of Simon Lu- 
cas, one of the early settlers of that county. 
He remo\'ed to Iowa j^rior to the epoch of rail- 
road building in this state and was one of the 
first residents of Fremont county. Martin V. 
Lucas was reared in Fremont county amid the 
wild scenes of frontier life and experiencing 
such hardships as fall to the lot of the pioneer, 
yet there were many pleasures to be enjoyed 
also and the new country afforded good oppor- 
tunities to its settlers. On arriving at years 
of maturity Mr. Lucas was married to Miss 
Elizabeth Johnson. He followed farming in 
his state, devoting his entire life to agricultural 
pursuits and he made his home in Fremont 
county up to the time of his death, which oc- 
curred in 1870. His wife passed away in the 
same week and thus the couple who had so long 
traveled life's journey as man and wife were 
not separated long in death. In the family 
were three children : Belle, the wife of J. J. 
Malcom, of Anthou; S. K., of this review; and 
Nettie, who is the wife of K. R. Armstrong, 
of Madison, South Dakota. 

After the death of their parents the children 
found a home with their maternal grandmother 
and when fifteen years of age S. R. Lucas 
started out in life to earn his own living, being 
employed as a farm laborer for several years. 
In 1889 he came to Woodbury county, where 
he rented a tract of land and carried on agricul- 
tural pursuits for some time. While thus en- 
gaged, he also began real estate operations and 
in 1897 he located in Anthon where he has since 
devoted his time and energies to dealing in 
property. He has bought, improved and after- 
ward sold a number of farms in this county 
and he handles both Iowa and Dakota lands and 
town property. He also does a farm loan busi- 
ness, has had a large clientage and is now num- 
bered among the most prosperous business men 
of Anthon, thoroughlv reliable at all times and 



carrying forward his business interests with 
notable and progressive spirit. 

]\rr. Lucas was married in Woodbury county 
on the lith of December, 1896, to Miss Eva 
Merrifield, who was born in Madison county, 
Iowa, and is a daughter of Hiram Merrifield, 
one of the early settlers of that locality. Three 
children grace this union : Mabel, Arthur and 
Cleo. 

Politically Mr. Lucas is a Democrat where 
national issues are involved, but at local elec- 
tions he votes independently, casting his ballot 
for the candidates whom he thinks best qualified 
for office. Political preferment has had no at- 
traction for him as he has desired to give his 
undivided attention to his business affairs, in 
which he has met with creditable success. He 
is a member of the blue lodge of Masons at An- 
thon, also of the Knights of Pythias lodge, and 
in the latter has filled all of the chairs and is 
now past chancellor. He is a member of Har- 
monia Lodge, No. 209, I. 0. 0. F. at Anthon 
and is also connected with the Modern Wood- 
men camp and his life is in consistent harmony 
with the tenets and teachings of these frater- 
nities. His entire life has been passed in Iowa 
and for fifteen years he has made his home in 
Woodbury county, where he now has a wide and 
favorable acquaintance. Surrounded at his 
liome by a circle of friends who appreciate his 
true worth and admired and esteemed by the 
citizens of the community, he has been num- 
bered among the worthy and enterprising resi- 
dents of Woodbury county. Courteous, genial, 
well informed, alert and enterprising, he stands 
lo-day as one of the leading representative men 
of his portion of the state. 



EDWARD ]\r. HUNT. 



Edward M. Hunt, who is engaged in real 
estate operations in Sioux City, was born in 
Nodaway county, Jfissouri, October 8, 1872, 
and is a son of John and Mary (Garlane) 



680 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUPY COUNTY 



Himt. His father, a merehaut uf Slieldou, 
luwa, was born iu Henry county, Illinois, while 
the mother is a native of the state of Xew 
York. Both the Hunt and Garlane families 
were of Irish lineage, although the Hunt fam- 
ily originated iu England. Edward M. Hunt 
is the third of eight children, those living being 
Minnie, Louise, Edward M., Lulu, John T. 
and Lenora, all at home in Sheldon, Iowa, with 
the exception of our subject. One daughter, 
Rose, formerly the wife of J. A. McGreen, and 
Fannie, have passed away. 

Edward M. Hunt was educated in the public 
schools of Stanbury, Missouri, in the normal 
school at that place and in the Brothers' School 
of Conception. His first work after putting 
aside his text books was as a clerk in a dry- 
goods store. In 1889 he came to Siotix City 
and entered the employ of F. L. Ferris, while 
later he secured a position as salesman in the 
dry-goods store of C. G. Culver. There he re- 
mained for a year, after which he returned to 
Sheldon, Iowa, and engaged with his father 
in merchandising. This relation was main- 
tained for seven years and in 1898 Mr. Hunt 
located permanently in Sioux City, where he 
has since dealt in real estate. He was first 
alone but soon afterward began co-operating 
with H. P. Lockwood and they continued to- 
gether for three years. Since that time !Mr. 
Hunt has been alone in business, having piir- 
chased his partner's interest. Wlien he first 
came to Sioux City there was a great need of 
carpenters and he at once began work in the 
line of that trade and soon found that he was 
able to keep up with any of the workmen. 
On entering the real estate field he foresaw 
the future of Sioux City and believed that he 
might profit by the growth and development 
which he felt wotild come. He had only lim- 
ited capital when he arrived here, but has now 
an extensive real estate business and is ranked 
among the substantial residents of the cotinty 
seat. 

Mr. Hunt is a member of the Catholic Ca- 



thedral of Sioux City and is also identified with 
the Knights of Columbus. He was married 
August 17, 1897, to Miss Catherine McKeev- 
er, of Forley, Iowa, and they have a pleasant 
home which is noted for its hospitality and 
good cheer. 



BEXJAMIX SMALLWOOD. 

Benjamin Smallwood, deceased, whose fam- 
ily have been prominent residents of Sioux 
City since 1875, was born in London, England, 
May 22, 1821. He was a grandson of Geoi'ge 
Smallwood, who always resided in London and 
became a wealthy man. He left a large estate 
and Mrs. Benjamin Smallwood expects soon to 
receive a portion of this as the inheritance 
which should have come to her husband. Tiev. 
George Smallwood, father of Benjamin Small- 
wood, was a Baptist minister. He was but 
eight years and three months of age when with 
relatives he crossed the Atlantic to America, 
becoming a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. After 
arriving at years of maturity he identifier! 
himself with the ministry of the Baptist church 
and subsequently removed to Middletown, 
Ohio, where he was in charge of the Baptist 
church until his death. Hi? wife also died 
in that city. 

Benjamin Smallwood attended the public 
schools of Cincinnati and of iliddletown, Ohio, 
and acquired a good education. He entered 
business life as a furniture merchant in !Mid- 
dletown and his trade increased until he was 
proprietor of the largest furniture store in that 
jilace. He conducted the business with con- 
stantly growing success until his death, which 
occurred on the 9th of December, 1872, but 
for several years prior to his demise he suffered 
greatly from ill health. In all of his business 
transactions he was thoroughly reliable, was 
very energetic and progressive and he owed his 
prosperity entirely to his own efforts. 

^[r. Smallwood was married in Middletown, 
Ohio, to Miss Rachel J. Warner, a native of 



^^^^^^^^H 


p^^l 


^^^^ 


^^1 


^^H^r/ 




^B 






!sl 



MES. E. J. SMALLWOOD. 



PAST AND PRESliNT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



683 



Kichmond, Virginia, born April 22, 1828, and 
a daughter of William and Nancy (Emmonds) 
Warner, the latter the daughter of John Em- 
monds, who was of Scotch descent. William 
Warner was a native of Richmond, Virginia, 
and his father was born in Germany, whence 
he came to America with three brothers, set- 
tling in Richmond, where he and his brothers 
all died. There were five children born unto 
Mr. and Mrs. Smallwood. Andrew, the eldest, 
enlisted in the Union army when but fourteen 
years of age. His regiment went to Indianapo- 
lis, thence to Kentucky and the last letter which 
his mother ever received from him was writ- 
ten on Calhoun's grave, at Eranklin, Kentucky. 
He was never heard from afterward ami un- 
doubtedly gave his life in defense of his 
country. Clarissa died at the age of one year. 
William George, who is well known in Sioux 
City, was formerly an engineer and afterward 
conducted a meat market, but has recently sold 
his store. He has always resided with his 
mother. Josephine is the wife of Silas Hall, 
who is emi^loyed in the railroad shops at 
Omaha, Nebraska. Carrie is the wife of Albert 
Whinnery, cashier of the National Bank in 
Aurelia, Iowa. After the death of Mr. Small- 
wood two of the children came to the west, 
locating in Sioux City, and because of this 
Mrs. Smallwood sold her property in Middle- 
town and came to this city in 1875. Soon after- 
ward she purchased the home which she now 
occupies — a large residence at No. 1305 Jen- 
nings street, where she is now living with her 
son. 

On account of ill health Mr. Smallwood took 
little active interest in politics, but kept well in- 
formed on questions and issues of the day, and 
voted with the Republican party. He lived an 
upright, exemplary life in harmony with his 
profession as a member of the Presbyterian 
church, which he joined at Middletown when 
nineteen years of age. He was very successful 
in his business affairs and thus left his widow 
in verv comfortable financial circumstances. 



Mrs. Smallwood is also a Presbyterian in re- 
ligious faith, belonging to the church of that 
denomination in Sioux City and here she is 
widely and favorably known, having a large 
circle of warm friends. 



THEODORE E. FLANEGIN. 

Theodore E. Flanegin, a man of excellent 
business capacity and discriminating judgment 
well known in the business circles of Sioux 
City, and now actively engaged in the develop- 
ment of South Dakota lands, was born in Mari- 
etta, Ohio, August 13, 1869. He has ever been 
watchful of business opportunities, has utilized 
his time and talents to the best advantage and 
is to-day enjoying the rewards of well directed 
labor and indefatigable enterprise. 

Mr. Flanegin is a son of Thomas C. and 
Margaret (Edgerton) Flanegin. His paternal 
grandfather, James Flanegin, was a native of 
Pennsylvania and removed from Washington 
county, that state, to Delaware county, Ohio, 
where he followed the occupation of farming. 
His death occurred when he had reached the 
advanced age of ninety years. His son, Thom- 
as C. Flanegin, was born in Ohio and is a well 
known educator of that state. For twenty-sev- 
en years he has been superintendent of the 
public schools of Pomeroy, Ohio, and is also 
prominent in educational meetings, state insti- 
tutes and other associations of teachers. His 
life labor has been of marked value to his fel- 
low men and he is to-day one of the most hon- 
ored and respected citizens of Pomeroy. His 
wife was a native of Massachusetts and by this 
marriage four children were born, of whom 
Theodore E. is the eldest. The others are 
Arthur W., and Alma T. and Abbie E., twins. 
Alma T. is now a teacher in the public schools 
of Sioux City, while Abbie E. is a music teach- 
er of Pomeroy. Ohio, and .\rthur W. is a 
member of the hospital corps of the United 



684 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



States army stationed at Angel Island, Cali- 
fornia. 

After acquiring his elementary education in 
the public schools Theodore E. Flanegin con- 
tinued his studies in Marietta College at Mari- 
etta, Ohio, and in 1889 he entered upon his 
business career in connection with the Detroit, 
Lansing & JSTorthern Eailroad Company as con- 
tracting freight agent. He also served in other 
capacities with that railroad, continvied his con- 
nection therewith for the years of 1888-90. In 
the spring of 1891 he came to Sioux City after 
having spent a brief period at Ponca, ISTe- 
braska. Here he entered the employ of the 
Chicago, St. Paul & Omaha Railroad, as bill 
clerk, but after a few months became local 
freight agent at Sioux City for the Sioux City 
& Northern Eailroad Company. He was also 
contracting freight agent and cashier, acting 
in the triple capacity for some time. He was 
afterward made traveling auditor and filled 
that position until March, 1896, when he en- 
tered into the real estate business and also estab- 
lished a fire insurance agency. Since that time 
he has been particularly connected with the 
work of developing South Dakota lands and 
has done much for the improvement of the 
state in Spink, Miner, Edmunds counties, also 
operating in other pairts of the state east of 
the Missouri river. 

In community affairs Mr. Flanegin takes 
a deep interest and is a recognized factor in 
the moral progress of the city. He is now a 
director of the Yo^mg Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation and a member of the board of trustees 
of the First Presbyterian church. He is also 
in hearty sympathy with the work of the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, with which he has been iden- 
tified for several years, holding membership 
at this writing in Landmark lodge, No. 103, 
A. F. & A. M., of Sioux City. He likewise 
belongs to Sioux City chapter, P. A. M., and 
holds membership relations with the Indepen- 
dent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of 
the Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 



ica and the Sioux City Commercial Club. He 
votes with the Republican party and is in ac- 
tive work in its local ranks. 

On the 27th of July, 1892, Mr. Flanegin 
was united in marriage to Miss Grace Jackson, 
a daughter of the late Judge W. M. Jackson, 
of Tomah, Monroe county, Wisconsin, and 
their children are Raymond E. and Dorothy G. 
]\Ir. Flanegin is a typical citizen of the middle 
west, possessing the enterprising spirit which 
has led to the rapid development of this sec- 
tion of the coimtry. Brooking no obstacles 
that could be overcome by determined purpose 
and laudable endeavor he has steadily worked 
his way upward and is a recognized factor for 
advancement in business, political and Jiioral 
circles in his citv. 



GEORGE WEARE. 



George Weare, prominent in financial circles 
in Iowa, became identified with the banking 
business in Sioux City when this place was a 
little hamlet containing but five or six log 
cabins. He has since been a factor in financial 
interests here and as president of the Iowa 
State National Bank stands at the head of one 
of the most reliable and prosperous moneyed 
concerns of this part of the country. Through- 
out his long identification with Sioux City and 
her welfare he has labored for higher ethical 
relations in business, has contributed to gen- 
eral progress through his championship of 
many public measures and has made for him- 
self an honored name through the conduct of 
his public and private affairs in a manner 
that has never sought nor required disguise. 

Mr. Weare was born in Derbyline, Vermont, 
December 3, 1834, a son of John and Cynthia 
(Ashley) Weare, both natives of Xew Hamp- 
shire. In 1834 the father maile a trip nn 
horseback to the west, his destination lieing 
St. Louis, and returned in the same manner. 
The following year the family removed by 




GEORGE WEARE. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



687 



wagon to Michigan, casting in their lot with 
the early settlers of that great and growing sec- 
tion of the country. They took up their abode 
in Allegan county, where the father engaged 
in the lumber business for several years and 
in 1848 he removed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 
where he resided until his death in 1856. His 
wife died in Allegan county, Michigan, in 
184:2. In their family were eleven children, 
five of whom are still living, but George Wearc, 
the yoiingest, is the only one residing in Sioux 
City. 

George Weare acquired his early education 
in the common schools of Allegan county and 
afterward continued his studies in Cedar Rap- 
ids, Iowa, and in Rochester, ISTew York. On 
the removal of the family to this state he drove 
a team from Allegan, Michigan, to Cedar Rap- 
ids, there being no railroads through this part 
of the country at that time. Although only 
fourteen years of age he engaged in teaming 
for several months, receiving a man's wages for 
his services. He then went to Rochester, New 
York, in 1849, and resumed his studies in 
one of its educational institutions. When a 
year had passed he returned to Cedar Rapids 
and at the age of sixteen he secured employ- 
ment in a country store, where for one year 
he received two dollars a month and his board 
in compensation for his services. That his 
labors proved eminently satisfactory to his em- 
ployer is indicated by the fact that the second 
year his salary was increased to twenty dol- 
lars per month. Following another year de- 
voted to study, ]\fr. Weare entered the bank- 
ing house of Greene & Weare, which was the 
first institution of the kind in Cedar Rapids, 
there remaining until Xovenilier, 185.5, when 
he went to Fort Dodge, Iowa. On the 26th 
of December, of that year, however, he arrived 
in Sioux City, making the entire tri]i from 
Cedar Rapids by stage. Sionx ( 'ity was then 
a little hamlet containing ^ix log cabins, around 
wliieh the snow laid throe or fonr feet deep. 
He builf a little loo- strnctnre which he used 



for an office and at once established a loan 
agency and banking business. In the latter 
field of endeavor he has continued to the pres- 
ent time and in September, 18G0, the firm of 
Weare & Allison was formed and entered upon 
a continuous existence of over forty years, the 
partnership being maintained until January, 
1901. At that time the institution was the 
oldest bank in Iowa conducted continuously 
imder one management. In Janiiary, 1901, 
however, the bank of Weare & Allison and the 
Iiiwa State National Bank were consolidated 
under the latter name, !Mr. Weare becoming 
jjresident of the new institution, which position 
he has since occupied. Long and varied ex- 
perience has given him comprehensive knowl- 
edge of the banking business in every depart- 
ment and his intense and well directed efForts 
have resulted in the acquirement of prosperity 
that is as honorable as it is enviable. The 
Iowa State National Bank is capitalized for 
two hundred thousand dollars and its present 
officers are : George Weare, president ; H. A. 
Jandt, vice-president ; and John McIIugh, 
cashier. 

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Mr. Weare was mar- 
ried to Miss ilary Carpenter, a native of Lan- 
caster, Fairfield county, Ohio, born on the 16th 
of March, 18.35. Her parents were Gabriel 
and Catherine (Pearse) Carpenter. Her fa- 
ther was born in Lancaster county, Pennsyl- 
vania, September 11, 1801, and in infancy re- 
moved with his parents to Fairfield coimty, 
Ohio, where he resided until his removal to 
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in .\]iril, 1851. He was 
a farmer and also a rontractor on ])ublic works 
and during his residence in Oliio built the 
Hocking Valley canal. On his removal to 
Iowa he again became identified with pioneer 
development and contributed largely to the ma- 
terial interests of Cedar Rapids. Purchasing 
land contiguous to the original city plat, he laid 
out several additions to the city and also built 
several dwellings and business houses, the most 
notalile being tlie r'arpenter block. For a num- 



688 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



ber of years he was a director of the First Na- 
tional Bank of that city, a stockholder in the 
Cedar Kapids Water Company and was the 
first president of the Marshalltown Gas Com- 
pany. He was a quiet, nuobtrnsive business 
man, ever ready to take part in all business en- 
terjirises calculated to advance the interests of 
the city, and to contribute fully and freely his 
share of material aid in sustaining and for-' 
warding public affairs. He was straightfor- 
ward, honorable and upright, scrupulously hon- 
est and religioiisly just. For nearly a quarter 
of a century he was a communicant of the 
Episcopal church and served as vestryman for 
many years. Socially he was genial, kind- 
hearted, a true friend and obliging neighbor 
and he held a warm place in the hearts of his 
fellow citizens. He died on the 10th of March, 
1881, at his residence near Cedar Rapids, and 
his wife passed away at Lancaster, Ohio, in 
1847. 

Four children were born of the marriage of 
Mr. and Mrs. Weare. Henry G., born Au- 
gust 25, 1858, married Jane Robinson, of Green 
Bay, Wisconsin, and is engaged in the cattle 
business in the west, making his home at Spear- 
fish, South Dakota. Susanna H. resides with 
her parents. Kittie C. became the wife of 
J. H. ISTason, who died in California, but his 
remains were interred at Sioux City. There 
were five children by that marriage. In 1903 
Mrs. Nason became the wife of Dr. Guy C. 
Rich and they reside in Sioux City, where Dr. 
Rich is successfully engaged in the practice 
of medicine and surgery. Mary E. is the wife 
of Howard G. Peirce, who is engaged in the 
live-stock commission business at the Sioux City 
stockyards, and they have three children. 

Mr. Weare is a firm advocate of Democratic 
principles and has continuously supported the 
party by his ballot save when in 1896 and again 
in 1900 he voted for William McKinley, be- 
cause of the attitude of the party concerning 
the money question. He served for a year as 
mayor of Sioux City and was a member of its 



first city council. He has never been ambi- 
tious in the line of office holding, however, but 
has been a co-operant factor in many measures 
for the general good and his services have prov- 
en valuable in the promotion of enterprises 
that have brought about substantial improve- 
ment, reform and progress here. He is a mem- 
ber of Tyrian Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Sioux 
Ciy, and also belongs to the Hawkeye Club 
and the Sioux City Boat Club. His wife is a 
member of St. Thomas Episcopal chvirch and 
they reside at ISTo. 705 Pearl street, where 
they have made their home continuously since 
1859. No man is more widely known in 
Woodbury county than George Weare and 
therefore it would almost seem superfluous in 
this connection to speak of the prominent posi- 
tion he occupies in business and social life 
here and yet it is but just to say of him in 
a history that will descend to future genera- 
tions that his has been a record of which any 
man might be proud to boast, for throughout 
his Irasiness life he has never made an engage- 
ment that he has not met nor incurred an ob- 
ligation that he haB not fulfilled and in the 
regard of those who know him he ranks with 
the honorable, enterprising representative men 
of the west who have been its founders and pro- 
moters. 



WILLIAM I. IIIXDS. 

William I. Hinds, who resides on section 25, 
Wolf Creek townshii^, is well known in tliis part 
f)f the coTinty as an honored pioneer settler and 
is frequently called ITncle Billy by his many 
friends. He located here in his childhood days, 
coming with his father, Avho secured a home- 
stead claim on the 3d of May, 1868. Mr. Hinds 
was born in Bridgewater, Pennslyvania, June 
5, 1858, a son of Ebenezer and Maria (Fergu- 
son) Hinds, who were also natives of the Key- 
stone state. The father was born October 29, 
1817, at Bridgewater, spent his boyhood days 




W. I. HINDS AND FAMILY. 




MIJ. AXD MES. I-:BEXEZER HINDS. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



693 



there and after arriving at years of maturity he 
wedded Miss Ferguson, who was born June 18, 
1824, at Athens, Bradford county, Pennsyl- 
vania. Farming ch\imed his time and energies 
in the east and to that pursuit he gave his atten- 
tion after his remo\-al to the west. On coming 
to Iowa he located first in Clinton county and 
subsequently went to Jackson county, whence 
in 1868 he came to Woodbury county, arriving 
here on the 3d of jMay. This portion of the 
state was still largely in a jjrimitive condition 
and he secured a homestead, upon which his 
son, William I., now resides, one hundred and 
sixty acres coming into his possession under the 
homestead laws. jSTot a furrow had been turned 
or an improvement made upon the jilace, but 
he broke the land, built a plank house and con- 
tinued the •work of inipro\-iiig the farm. The 
family experienced many hardships and priva- 
tions for he had very little cajjital and was un- 
able even to secure the few conveniences which 
a frontier district afforded. He owned a yoke 
of cattle but had to borrow the wagon in which 
he made the journey from Jackson county. 
After a hard sunnui'r here his first crop was de- 
stroyed by fire which crmsumed everything but 
his plank house. As time passed, however, he 
prospered and after a number of years he was 
enabled tn place iniprnvements upon his farm. 
There he reared his family and spent his re- 
maining days, passing away on the old home- 
stead August 24, 1885. His widow survived 
for about seven years and died February 19, 
1892. They were worthy pioneer people who 
bravely faced the difficulties to be encountered 
in establishing a home in the west. They had 
four children, of whom three are living: Eliza- 
beth, who reached womanhood, was married 
and died leaving four children, who with their 
father, John Heath, still survive her; IMary El- 
len, the wife of Thomas Heath, of I.emars, 
Iowa ; William I., of this review, and Sarah 
A., the wife of C. H. Dayton. 

In retrospect one can see William I. Hinds 
as a farm boy, doing the chores about the place 



in his early boyhood and afterward working in 
the fields when returning spring made it neces- 
sary to plow the land and plant the crops. He 
aided in gathering the harvests in the late au- 
tumn and so manifold wore his farm duties 
that he had little opportunity to attend school, 
being largely a self-educated man. As he ad- 
vanced in years he relieved his father more and 
more of the care and responsibility incident to 
the development of a farm and eventually as- 
sumed entire management, while later he pur- 
chased the 2)1 ace of his father. He has built 
additions to the house, which he has also re- 
modeled, and he likewise put up a good barn 
and other outbuildings. He has a good orchard 
vielding its fruits in season and shade trees 
adorn his land. He lias also purchased two 
other farms, one in Kodrdu township compris- 
ing two himdred and sixty acres of arable land, 
while the other in Wolf Creek township also 
covers a quarter section and he now owns alto- 
gether four hundred and eighty acres. He car- 
ries on general farming and likewise raises good 
graded stock, fattening annually a carload of 
cattle and three carloads of hogs for the market. 
In June, 1899, ]\Ir. Hinds was married to 
]\liss Sarali Daytun, a native of ^lissouri and a 
(laughter of Baltis Dayton, who removed from 
that state to Iowa. There are four children by 
this union: ifary il., who is the wife of Henry 
Lambert, of Wolf Creek township, who is en- 
gaged in the operation of a sawmill and the 
manufacture of lumber and also runs a steam 
thresher; Harris, at home, and John B. and 
Isaac F., also under the parental roof. Mr. 
Hinds has deeded to his son Harris an eighty- 
acre tract of land on section 27, Kedron town- 
ship and to John another eighty acres adjoin- 
ing, while to his youngest son he will deed a 
similar amount when the latter reaches his ma- 
jority. Mrs. Lambert is living in the same 
yard with her parents in a house built and fur- 
nished by them, it being given to her. The 
family is one of prominence in the community 



694 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



and the hospitality of the best homes of their 
township is extended to them. 

Politically, Mr. Hinds never wavers in his 
allegiance to the Republican party and its j^rin- 
ciples, but has had no desire for olfice, prefer- 
ring to give his attention to his business inter- 
ests. He belongs to the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows at Anthon and he and his wife are 
members of Eebeckah Lodge and she is also a 
member of the Baptist church. For thirty-six 
years Mr. Hinds has resided iipon the farm 
which is now their Jionie, covering the greater 
part of his life, and he has intimate knowledge 
of what lias been accomplished here in the way 
of the county's growth and improvement. He 
can remember many interesting incidents of 
pioneer times and although he is now in very 
comfortable circumstances his memory goes 
back to the time that the family experienced 
man}' hardships and privations. Owing to his 
father's limited financial condition he had no 
boots or shoes and was otherwise scantily clad. 
It was also impossible for him to attend school 
to any great extent, yet he has worked on per- 
sistently, making the most of his opportunities 
and in his business career has shown good man- 
agement. He deserves credit and respect for 
what he has accomplished and his is an unblem- 
ished character, for he has ever been straight- 
forward and honorable in his dealings with his 
fellow men, using the most worthy methods in 
his efforts to win prosperity. 



AA^DREW OSTLIXG. 
Building operations in Sioux City are ex- 
tensive, owing to the continued growth of the 
city, and this field of labor, therefore, proves a 
profitable one and is also one which employs 
the services of a large number of workmen. 
Mr. Ostling is connected with the building in- 
terests here as a contractor and his work has 
ever been of a character that insures him a 
good patronage. The adopted sons of the city 
find in him a worthy representative. He was 



born in Sweden in 1860 and is a son of Andrew 
and Ciiristina Ostling, who were also natives 
of that country. The father was a mechanic 
and died in Sweden, and the mother's death 
occurred there when her son Andrew was but 
two years of age. He was the elder of two 
children, the other being Peter Ostling, who is 
now a carpenter of Sioux City. He has a 
half-brother. Gust, who is a carpenter of Sioux 
City and two half-sisters who are living in 
California. 

Reared in his native country Andrew Ostling 
attended the public schools and when he had 
completed his education he learned the carpen- 
ter's trade. In the year 1889 when twenty- 
three years of age he bade adieu to friends and 
native country and sailed for America, think- 
ing that he might enjoy better business privi- 
leges and opportunities for advancement in the 
new world. Landing on the eastern coast he 
at once made his way into the interior of the 
country, continuing his travels until he arrived 
at Sioiix City, Iowa, where he has since been 
identified with building operations. In 1893 
he formed a partnership with Charles Johnson 
under the firm style of Ostling & Johnson, con- 
tractors and builders. This biisiness associa- 
tion has since been maintained and they now 
have offices at the corner of Third and Jackson 
streets. They have erected a large number of 
structures in this city and are doing a busi- 
ness which is profitable and extensive. 

]\rr. Ostling was married in 1891 to ]\riss 
Anna Wickstrom, whose father was a station 
agent in Sweden. Her mother is now living 
with ifrs. Ostling in Sioux City. The latter 
was born in Sweden in 1865 and by her mar- 
riage has become the mother of four children: 
Evart, Ralph, Irma and Verna. Both ]^^r. and 
IMi-s. Ostling belong to the Swedish Lutheran 
church and he holds membership relations with 
the Woodmen of America, with the Swedish 
Monitoren, a contractors' and builders' and 
traders' exchange, and the SioTix City Indus- 
trial Association. His interest in political 



PAST AND PRES'ENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



695 



questions and his study of the issues of the 
day has led him to give his allegiance to the 
.Republican party. The hope which led him 
to seek a home in America has been more than 
realized, for here he has found the business 
opportunities he has sought and which are al- 
ways open to the young man of determination 
and capability. He has found that while in 
America there is no royal road to wealth, that 
labor meets with a generous reward when di- 
rected by intelligence and sound judgment, 
and therefore along the line of unfaltering en- 
ergy and perseverance he has made his way 
steadily forward until he now occupies a posi- 
tion among the substantial representatives of 
the builder's art in Sioux City. 



JAMES O. PAYNE. 



James O. Payne, a contractor and builder 
of Sioux City, was born in Cambridge, Illinois, 
May 11, 1858, and is a son of Darius and 
Melvina (Brewster) Payne, who were natives 
of Caroline Center, New York. The father 
was a cooper by trade and is now living in Ke- 
wanee, Illinois, operating a tank and cistern 
factory, but his wife passed away in 1896. 
Mrs. C. Van Pelt, the maternal grandmother, 
is a specialist of the treatment of the diseases 
of the ear and eye and is well known for her 
ability in that direction. In the father's fam- 
ily were nine children, of whom James O. 
was the third in order of birth. Those living 
are Edward, an engineer on the Chicago, Mil- 
waukee & St. Paul Eailroad and living at Ma- 
son City, Iowa; Orin, of Ogden, Utah, who is 
foreman of the car shops of the Union Pacific 
Eailroad at that place and who had charge 
of the boilers on the battleship Baltimore dur- 
ing the Philippine war and made the highest 
record in examinations for the United States 
service at the opening of the war; Wallace, 
who is boss roller at the Great Western Tube 
works at Kewanee, Illinois ; Oneita, the wife of 



Edward Swain, sheriff of Henry county, Illi- 
nois ; Alice, the wife of George Chichester, a 
merchant of Cincinnati, Ohio; and Etta, the 
wife of George Weston, a merchant of Weath- 
ersfield, Illinois. 

James O. Payne spent his boyhood days in 
Kewanee, Illinois, attending the common 
schools and the high school at that place. He 
then learned the cooper's trade and at the age 
of twenty years he left his native state and 
went to Missouri. He possesses natural me- 
chanical ingenuity and early displayed great 
ability in the use of tools. He can make any- 
thing in wood and in Missouri he became as- 
sistant to 0. Tucker, a carpenter. He after- 
ward spent three years in Kansas City and 
later was on the freight trail between Pueblo, 
Colorado, and the Big King silver mine. Aft- 
er two years spent in that way he returned to 
Missouri and thence came to O'Neal, Iowa, 
and was afterward at Coon Rapids, Iowa, 
where he began business on his own account 
as a contractor and builder. He built the first 
house in Dedham, Iowa, and was located there 
for two years, after which he returned to his 
old home in Illinois and was married. He 
located then in Galesburg, Illinois, but after- 
ward removed to Sanborne, Iowa, where he 
remained for thirteen years, carrying on con- 
tracting and building. He next resided at 
Sheldon, Iowa, where he continued in the same 
line of pursuit for three years. He built the 
greater portion of Rogers Folly, under which 
name the opera house at that place became 
known. Later he went to Marcus, Iowa, where 
he erected a large Methodist Episcopal church, 
a double brick and stone building, but con- 
tinued to reside in Sheldon. His work at 
Marcus covered one year and during the suc- 
ceeding year he erected a four thousand dollar 
residence. He then built the Knoll Street 
Mission church in Sioiix City in 1900 and his 
friends here persuaded him to make this city 
his permanent location. He has since been 
actively and extensively connected with build- 



696 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBlfKY COUNTY 



ing operations in Woodbury county and has 
erected the residences of J. B. Trimble, R. A. 
Cushman, Silas Hall, F. L. Ferris, E. Y. 
Yates and G. C. Straub, also two for George 
Milner and two for W. S. Wilkins. He also 
built a large double house for Godfrey Reames, 
the residence of W. Luckins, the livery barn for 
John McDonald, of Leeds, Iowa, the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church at Lawton, two farm 
buildings for H. S. Hess, a barn for Dr. Wise 
and a residence for Mrs. Graudy. 

On the 6th of July, 1884, Mr. Payne was 
married to Miss Ida L. Wade, of Bardolph, 111- 
nois, and their children are Alfred, William, 
Eva, Vivian and Erma. Mr. Payne is a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and is connected with the encampment and the 
Rebekah degree. He is also a member of the 
Contractors' & Builders' Exchange and in his 
political views he is a Republican. His life 
history is immarked by any exciting epoch, but 
indicates the possibilities for accomplishment 
when one possesses strong purpose, indefatiga- 
ble energy and discriminating judgment — all 
of which are numbered among the salient char- 
acteristics of James O. Pavne. 



GEORGE II. ILVUniAX. 

George H. Rathuian, whose business his- 
tory is the record of continuous progression 
through the avenue of opportiinity which in 
America is open to all, and who is now one 
of the prominent representatives of financial 
interests in Sioux City, occupying the presi- 
dency of the Live Stock National Bank, was 
born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, August IC, 
1856. His parents were Charles F. and Eliza- 
beth (Gay) Rathman. They removed to Iowa 
in 1858, locating at Monona, Clayton coiinty, 
where his father for many years was proprietor 
of a general mercantile establishment. George 
H. Rathman attended the public schools at 



Monona, aud after putting aside his textbooks 
he clerked in his father's store. 

Going to the territory of Dakota in ilarch, 
1S78, he entered the employ of William Van 
Ejjs, a general merchant at Sioux Falls, at a 
salary of ten dollars a month. Sioux Falls was 
then a small town of eight hundred inhabitants, 
witli no railriiad connection with the outside 
world. After a few months' service Mr. Van Eps 
made him manager of a branch store at what 
was Rockport, on the James river, in Hanson 
county, then a frontier town, sixty miles west 
of Sioux Falls and eighty miles north of Y'ank- 
ton. When the railroad was projected the town 
of Mitchell was founded, and Mr. Rathman re- 
moved to that point to manage a branch store 
for 'Sir. Van Eps, this being the first general 
store of the town. In 1883 he first became 
connected with the banking business, entering 
the employ of Ormsbv, Clute & Company as 
bookkeeper. He was with that firm and their 
successor for three years and successively 
served as assistant cashier and cashier. In 1886 
he established the Bank of Parkston, and while 
conducting that institution also acted as to'wn- 
site agent. Later, returning to Mitchell, he 
purchased an interest in the Security Bank, of 
which he became manager and cashier. In 
October, 1892, he sold his interest in that bank 
and was then out of active business for a time, 
spending the interval in extensive travel. In 
1805, however, he again entered banking cir- 
cles, organizing the Live Stock Xational Bank 
at the Sioux City Stock Yards, which opened 
its doors for business on the 1 Ttli of October of 
that year. 

He filled the position of cashier until Janu- 
ary, 190.1, when he was elected president, and 
has since remained at the head of the institu- 
tion. The Live Stock ^NTational Bank, under 
the safe and conservative policy which he in- 
augurated, has become one of the strong, re- 
liable financial concerns of the state, and has 
among its stockholders men of national finan- 
cial prominence. Thus, step by step, Mr. Rath- 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOUDBUEY COUNTY 



699 



man has advanced iu his business career, watch- 
ful of opportunity and noting every indication 
pointing to success, and he has not only gained 
the goal of prosperity, but has also gained an 
enviable rejjutation by reason of his progressive 
and thoroughly reliable business methods. 

On the liOth of August, 1806, Mr. Eath- 
man was married, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to 
Miss Florence E. Singiser, the daughter of 
Captain T. F. and Ellen S. Singiser. Her 
father for many years has been numbered 
among the distinguished citizens of the west. 
He served his cotmtry as captain of the Twen- 
tieth Pennsylvania Cavalry iu the Civdl war, 
was secretary of the territory of Idaho and 
later its member of congress. He and his 
wife are now residents of Salt Lake City. 

Mr. Rathman is a Republican, but not active 
in politics. He is a thirty-second degree Mason 
and has been prominent in Masonic circles, be- 
ing the first candidate to receive the degrees 
in Resurgam Lodge, Xo. 31, A. F. & A. M., 
at Mitchell. He afterward served as its mas- 
ter, was high priest of Mitchell Chapter, Xo. 
16, R. A. M. ; eminent commander of St. 
Bernard Commandery, ISTo. 11, K. T. ; grand 
treasurer of the Grand Chapter, R. A. M., of 
Dakota, in 1887-8, and grand commander of 
the Grand Commandery, K. T., of South Da- 
kota, in 189.3. He is and has been pre-emi- 
nently a man of affairs and one who has 
wielded a wide influence, and during the years 
of his residence in Woodbury county has been 
recognized as a valued addition to its citizen- 
ship. 



HENRY HIXKHOUSE. 
Henry Hinkhouse, who follows farming on 
section 25, Rutland township, is one of the ex- 
tensive landowners of the county, his posses- 
sions comprising nearly an entire section lying 
within fotir farms in Union and Rutland town- 
ships. Upon his land are four sets of good 



buildings and his projjerty possessions are very 
valuable. Mr. Hinkhouse has resided in this 
county since 1887. He was born in Hanover, 
Germany, in November, 1859, and there re- 
mained during the period of his minority. He 
attended the public schools of his native coun- 
ti'y but had no instruction in English ere he 
came to the new world, and his knowledge of 
the language here spoken has been acquired 
through contact with his fellow citizens. He 
emigrated to the new world in 1880, sailing 
from Bremen to New Y^ork, and from the latter 
city he came direct to Iowa. In Cedar and in 
iluscatine coimties he worked as a farm hand 
and also followed the stone-mason's trade to a 
limited extent. He afterward worked as a 
stone-mason in St. Louis and in Des Moines, 
Iowa, and in 1887 he invested his earnings in 
land, first becoming the owner of one hundred 
and sixty acres in Union township, Woodbury 
county. He still owns this property and after 
building a small house thereon he began to cul- 
tivate and develop it. As his financial re- 
sources increased he bought more land from 
time to time so that he now owns four good 
farms. When he crossed the Atlantic to Amer- 
ica he had no capital and arrived in Iowa 
empty-handed, but he possessed what is better 
than money or influence — earnest determina- 
tion to win success through honorable labor. 
He has worked on year after year and his dili- 
gence and capable management have brought 
to him prosperity. He now owns, individually, 
a large body of land and is indeed one of the 
successful fanners and leading business men 
of his portion of the county. 

On the 1st of January, 1886, in Cedar 
county, Iowa, Mr. Hinkhouse was united in 
marriage to Miss Dora Techau, a native of 
Germany, born in Holstein. Tliere are five 
children of this marriage: Hannah, Charles, 
Etta, Freda and Herman. 

Politically Mr. Hinkhouse is a Democrat 
and east his first presidential ballot for Grover 
rievoland and his last vote for W. J. Bryan. 



700 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



He has served as a member of the school board 
and is a member of Pierson lodge, I. O. O. F. 
Marked changes have occurred in Woodbury 
county during his residence here covering al- 
most a qiiarter of a century and the change has 
been no more remarkable in the county or in 
any line of life than it lias been in his own 
career, for here he has made the most of his 
opportunities and his landed possessions are 
now extensive and his business interests are 
profitable. 



HENRY METZ. 

The field of business is limitless and its op- 
portunities boundless and in America where 
all have equal advantages, success or failure 
depend entirely upon the individual. Henry 
Metz, working his way upward through untir- 
ing diligence, stands today at the head of the 
bakery business in Iowa, conducting a whole- 
sale establishment in Sioux City with a trade 
that extends into many neighboring states. 

Mr. Metz was born in Germany in 1866. 
His father, Conrad Metz, also a native of that 
country, died in 1889 at the age of sixty-seven 
j^ears. He was a miller by trade and also 
followed farming. He served as a soldier in 
the Hessian Army in 1864 and was a mem- 
ber of the German Reformed chiirch. He mar- 
ried Katherine Mose, also a native of Ger- 
many, where she is now living at the age of 
sixty-eight years. She is a member of the Hes- 
sian Reformed church. In the family were 
nine children, those living being: Arnold, 
who is living on the old home farm in Ger- 
many; Mary, of that country; Martin, a car- 
riage and wagon manufacturer of Champaign, 
Illinois; Henry; Elizabeth, who is married and 
lives in Germany ; Eliza, who is married and 
resides in the fatherland ; and William, now em- 
ployed as shipping clerk by his brother. Anna 
is deceased. 

In the public schools of his native country 
Henry Metz was educated and after learning 



the 1 taker's trade he went to London, where 
he followed the same pursuit for three years. 
In 1SS7 he came to the United States and 
making his way to Sioux City worked for 
Henry Fachmau, whose business he purchased 
in 1892. He has since been proprietor of the 
Vienna Bakery, which is the largest of the 
kind in the state. He sells principally to the 
wholesale trade and sells extensively in Ne- 
braska, Iowa, South Dakota and a part of Min- 
nesota, his product being ice cream as well as 
all kinds of bakery goods. He has built up a 
profitable business of large proportions through 
straightforward business methods and indefat- 
igable industry and his well merited success 
has come as the logical result of his labor. 

Mr. Metz was married in Sioux City to 
Henrietta Fachman, a daughter of Henry Fach- 
man, his former employer. She was born in 
Sioux City and died in 1896, at the age of 
twenty-five years, leaving one child, Henry. 
In 1897 Mr. Metz married Virginia Fachman, 
a sister of his first wife, and they liave three 
children : Henrietta, Arnold and Helen. 
Mrs. !Mctz is a member of the Catholic chiirch 
and he is a thirty-second degree Mason. He 
also belongs to the Red Men, the Workmen and 
the Elks Lodges, is a member of the Commer- 
cial Club and gives his political support to the 
Democracy. He is president of the Master 
Bakers' Association of Iowa and also a mem- 
ber of the Master Bakers' Association of Amer- 



ARNOLD LOUIS FRIBOURG. 

Arnold Louis Fribourg, a member of the 
firm of Henderson & Fribourg, attorneys at 
law of Sioux City, was born in Xew York city, 
on the 22d of August, 1863. His father, Marx 
Fribourg, now living retired, was the son of Vic- 
tor Fribourg, who was decorated by Napoleon 
I for military service. His mother was Louisa 
(Solomon^) Fribourg. In the paternal line he 




HENEY METZ. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



703 



comes of French-Swiss ancestry, who gave the 
town of Fribourg, Switzerland, its name. 
Adolph Fribourg, an nncle, married a sister 
of Gutierres, hite president of Peru. 

Arnokl Louis Friboui-g pursued his educa- 
tion in the city of New York and was gradu- 
ated with the degree of Master of Science from 
the College of the City of New York, as a mem- 
ber of tlie class of 1882. He pursued a short 
law course in Columbia College in 1884 and 
also studied law with Otto Horwitz, of New 
York city. Admitted to the bar in New York 
city in 1885, he practiced there until 1887, and 
in the si)ring of 1888 he came to Sioux City, 
where he has since made liis home. He was 
market editor of the Exchange and Tribune 
until May, 1893, Avhen he was admitted to the 
Iowa bar, and after being associated, as assist- 
ant, with Swan, Lawrence & Swan for a few 
years was admitted to the partnership, which re- 
lation was maintained until March, 1901, when 
he formed a partnership with T. G. Hender- 
son, and the firm of Henderson & Fribourg has 
since maintained high standing at the Wood- 
bury county bar, enjoying a business in the 
coTirts and as counselors which is constantly 
growing in volume and importance. 

Mr. Fribourg is a i^rominent advocate of 
Masonry and in his life exemplifies the benefi- 
cent spirit of the craft. He was made a Mason 
in Darcy Lodge, of New York city, in 1884, 
and dimitted to Landmark Lodge of Sioux 
City, in 1900. He has taken the fourteen de- 
grees of the Lodge of Perfection, A. A. S. P., 
at Des Moines, becoming identified with the 
Scottish rite in 190n. He also lielongs to the 
Modern Woodmen of America and the Wood- 
men of the World and is a member of the Sioux 
City Boat Club, the Hawkeye Club and the 
Young Men's Christian Association. Reli- 
giously of the Jewish faith, he was president of 
Mount Sinai Congregation in 1902-.3, and is 
now a director and trustee. 

On the 28th of December, 1893, in Sioux 
City, Mr. Friboiirg was married to ATiss Maud 



Eiseman, who died December 17, 1903. Her 
father was one of the pioneers of his faith in 
Dakota, early settling in Yankton, where he 
long served as county commissioner and took an 
active and influential part in public affairs. 
His wife, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, 
was a playmate of the late Senator Hanna and 
of Nelson Morris, the millionaire packer of 
Chicago. The children of Mr. Fribourg are 
Victor Eiseman, Frances Belfreda, Roger 
Louis and Ernest Jav. 



HENRY BAKER. 
Henry Baker, living on section 35, Rutland 
township, is a prosperous agriculturist, who for 
more than a third of a century has been a resi- 
dent of Woodbury county and is now the owner 
of a farm of two hvindred and forty acres, 
which, Avith its excellent improvements, is 
proof of his life of industry and thrift. He is 
one of Iowa's native sons, his birth having oc- 
curred in .Tackson county. His father, Andrew 
Baker, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 
Bedford county in 1825 and in 1833 he accom- 
panied his jiarents on their removal to Ohio, 
the family home being established there in a 
pioneer community. Thiis Andrew Baker was 
reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life 
and when a young lad went to Indiana, again 
becoming connected with a pioneer settlement. 
He was married to Miss Harriet Roush, a na- 
tive of Ohio, and engaged in farming in In- 
diana for a few years, after which he came to 
Iowa, settling in Jackson county. The year 
1870 witnessed his removal to Woodbury 
county, where he purchased a homestead claim, 
which had been entered by the man who sold it 
to him. This claim he proved up and received 
a government patent for the land. He built 
thereon a dwelling, a barn and other necessary 
buildings, planted a grove of maples and cotton- 
wood trees, also set oiit an orchard and contin- 
ued general agricultural jnirsuits there with ex- 
cellent success up to the time of his death, 



704 



PAST A^D PKESE>'T OF WOODBUKY COU^TY 



which oeciirred on the Slh of November, 1S94:. 
His wife passed awav oulv a few davs later and 
both were laid to rest in Kock Branch cemetery. 
where a substantial momimeut marks the place 
of their interment. In the familv were seven 
children: Manha. the wife of Andrew Fer- 
guson, of Woodbtiry county; Lorenzo, also of 
this county ; Edwarvl, who is living in Whitman 
coimty, Washington; John, a resident farmer 
of Woodbury county: 31yra E-, the wife of 
William Short, of Rutland township; Henry, 
of this review : and Andrew J., who is living in 
Jackson county, Iowa. 

Henry Baker was largely reared in Wood- 
bury coxuity and the common schools afforded 
him his early educational privil^es. Later he 
attended Dexter College for one term. Both 
prior to this time and afterward he engaged in 
teaching and he followed the profession for two 
years. He then took charge of the home farm, 
was administrator and settled up the estate, 
and. purchasing the interest of the other heirs, 
he now owns two hundred and forty acres of 
land in the home place and also a tract of 
eighty acres in Wolf Creek township. He is 
engaged in raising graded stock, buying and 
selling stock and carrying on quite an extensive 
business in this direction. He has now a pair 
of stock scales on his farm for his own use. He 
sells most of his farm products to the home mai^ 
ket and in this way he annually gains a good 
financial remm for his labor. 

Politically Mr. Baker is a Republican upon 
questions of state and national imjK>rtance. but 
at local elections votes independently. He has 
served as cvanmisitMier of highways for five 
years and has been a m«nber of the selKxd 
K>ard. the caxtse of educatitm finding in him a 
warm friend- He was appointed administrator 
by the court and has served in that capacity in 
eooneetion with three different estates. He is 
an excellent business man. careful and far- 
sighted, reliable and energetic. Socially he is 
e«Manecte«i with Rock Branch Camp of the Mod- 
era Woodmen of America. 



GEORGE S. THOMPSON. 

George S. Thompson, whose active connec- 
tion with the maintenance of law and order at 
Sioux City, where he long filled the position 
of bailiff, was well known in northwestern 
Iowa, taking up his abode in the county seat in 
1SS3. His birth occurred in Reedville, Maine, 
July 3, lS3o, his father being Samuel Thomp- 
son, who was a shoe merchant of Winthrop, 
Alaine, during the greater part of his life and 
there passed away. 

Geoi^e S. Thompson acquired a common- 
school education in his native city and learned 
the hardware business there. He conducted 
operations along that line in Winthrop tmtil 
1S69, when he removed to Blue Earth county. 
Minnesota, where he carried on merchandising 
for several years. He afterward removed tc> 
St. James. When the James and Younger 
brothers raided the bank at Xorthfield. Min- 
nesota. Mr. Thompson was one of the p«36se 
that snrrormded the grove where the Younger 
brvxhers were in hiding. He assisted in the 
capture of those notorious robbers and received 
his share of the botmty. While residing in 
Minnesota he was also at one time a candidate 
for state senator. In 1SS3 he sold his business 
at St. James, Minnesota, and came to Sioux 
City. Here he purchased the Pacific H<xel 
at the corner of Thin! and Jackson streets, then 
one of the best hotels of the place and for sev- 
eral years he continued its condtict. In Jan- 
tiary. 1S90. he was appointed bailiff of the 
district court by Sheriff Magner and received 
his first instructions frMm Judge C. H. Lewis, 
who said: '^ou just get an elm club and 
take your stand over there and when any of 
these lawyers begin to get noisy or offensive, 
yon hit him over the head with your dub." 
Bailiff TlK>mps»>n did not find it necessary to 
obey the instmetions to the letter, but it was 
soon seen from the firm stand that he to<A 
that he would permit no tmseemly conduct 
and he did much toward maintaining the ^is- 
nirv of the law thrvxish the maintenance of a 




GEOKGE S. THOMPSON. 




MRS. E. E. F. LANCASTER. 



PAST AND PKES'ENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



r09 



quiet, orderly courtroom. From that time for- 
ward lie made such an excellent record and 
gave such uniform satisfaction as an official 
that he was retained in the office for eleven 
years and six months through various changes 
in administration, and notwithstanding the fact 
that he was a Democrat and that most of the 
bailiifs were Republican, he continued to serve 
in that cajjacity until his death, and no word 
of reproach was ever uttered against his official 
career. 

Mr. Thomi^son was married to Miss Flor- 
ence F. Thomson, a native of Boston, Massa- 
chusetts, and a daughter of Dr. George N. and 
Eliza (Foster) Thomson. Her father was a 
jirominent physician of Boston, Massachiisetts, 
where he spent the greater jjart of his life 
and died in that city. His wife, who was born 
in New Hampshire, May 3, 1818, became the 
wife of Mr. Lancaster, of Minden, Louisiana, 
after the death of her first husband, and fol- 
lowing the death of her second husband she 
came to Sioux City to live with her daughter, 
Florence, with whom she remained until called 
to her final rest on the 4th of November, 1903, 
when she was eighty-five years of age. She 
was a very intelligent and cultured lady, pos- 
sessed a great memory, was j^rominent in so- 
ciety circles in Sioux City and had many 
friends. She assisted in organizing the Bry- 
ant Club in September, 1892, and was always 
deeply interested in the growth and develop- 
ment here. She was also noted for her talent 
as an artist and her daughter now has many 
fine paintings in her home that are her moth- 
er's handiwork. There were three children 
l)orn unto L)r. and Mrs. Thomson : Lizzie, 
George and Florence. Upon her death the re- 
mains of Mrs. Lancaster were taken by her 
grandson, Henry S. Herman, of Norfolk, Vir- 
ginia, to her old home in New Hampshire, 
where the interment was made. 

^Iv. Thomjison left two children: Llannie, 
the wife of John M. Sammons, who is a con- 
ductor on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific 



Railroad and resides at Dalhart, Texas; and 
Lydia F., who resides with her mother at her 
home at 912 Jennings street. Mr. Thompson 
died June 26, 1901, and the funeral services 
were conducted by the Knight Templar Com- 
mandery, the interment being made in Floyd 
cemetery at Sioux City. Mr. Thompson had 
been a member of the Masonic fraternity from 
1859 and was a prominent and valued repre- 
sentative of Columbia Commandery, K. T. In 
politics he was a Democrat and was well known 
to both parties in Sioux City. He was a very 
charitable man, ever willing to lend a helping 
hand to those in need and he assisted many a 
poor farmer out of trouble during the financial 
difficulties which followed the grasshopper 
plague in Minnesota. His sterling worth was 
widely recognized and his exemplary life made 
him one of the most widely esteemed citizens of 
Woodlmry county, so that his death was the 
occasion of deep regret to many friends. He 
left his wife in comfortable circumstances and 
she and her daughter now reside at the family 
home at No. 912 Jennings street. Mrs. 
Thompson is a member of Daughters of the 
American Revolution. 



GODFREY DURST. 



It is astonishing to witness the success of 
yoking men who have emigrated to America 
without capital and from a humble jiosition 
have worked their way upward to one of 
affluence. The readiness with which they adapt 
themselves to circumstances and take advantage 
of opportunities offered brings to them success 
and wins them a place among the leading men 
of the community in which they reside. Such 
a man is Godfrey Durst, a well known citizen 
of Danbury, where today he is successfully en- 
gaged in milling and farming. 

A native of Switzerland, he was born in Ruti, 
Canton Zurich, January 31, 1847, and is a son 
of Melchior and Rosina (Scheisser) Durst von 



710 



PAST AXD PKESEXT OF WOODBUUY COUNTY 



Diesbach, both natives of Canton Glai-us, the 
former born in ISO-i and the latter in 1806. 
The mother died in Switzerland in lS6i and 
four years later the father came to America, 
living for a time with our subject in New 
Glarus, Wisconsin. He stibsequently spent one 
year in Kansas and then went to Oregon, where 
he died in 1885. 

Godfrey Durst was reared and educated in 
his native land, his boyhood being passed on a 
small farm belonging to his father. From the 
age of seven until twelve years old he attended 
the public schools and for two years pursued 
his studies in a college at Huttzingen, Switzer- 
land. Two years prior to his father's emigra- 
tion our subject came to the United States, 
landing in IN'ew York on the loth of Jidy, 
18G6. Having no nioney he worked for two 
months in a brickyard near Rondout, New 
York, and then cooked on a canal boat, run- 
ning between that place and Troy for one or 
two trips. In October, 1866, he went to Green 
county, Wisconsin, where he engaged in thresh- 
ing for a time but was there taken ill and on 
his recovery commenced learning the miller's 
trade. Tn Feliruary, 1870, he removed from 
Wisconsin to Valley Falls, Kansas, where he 
was eni])]oycil in a mill until the following 
July, when liv went to Onuilia, Xeln-aska. On 
the 1st of September of the same year he ar- 
rived in Oto, Woodbury county, Iowa, where he 
worked in the mill for Charles Watts xmtil the 
spring of 1871, and later rented and operated 
the same mill foi' two yravs. In the meantime 
he and his hrotlicrs Imill a mill at Battle Creek, 
Ida county, Iowa, but lie afterward sold his 
share and returncil to Kansas, where he spent 
one year. At the end of that time he returned to 
Woodlmry county and worked in the new mill 
at Smithland until tlic fall of 187:1. wlien lie 
worked, starting a new mill at Castana, Mo- 
nona comity. In the s]u-ing of 1874 he formed 
a partnershi]! with James Horton and bought 
the Oto mill l>ut sold his interest to bis partner 
in 1S70. He Iniill tlic r.nnnor mill at Hanbnrv 



in 1882 and commenced its oj)eration in the fall 
of that year, since which time he has carried on 
business at this j^lace. This mill has a capacity 
of two hundred barrels of flour and 1,000 car- 
loads of feed per day and is oi^erated both by 
water and steam power. In connection with his 
mill, ]\lr. Durst also runs an elevator, which 
has a capacity of forty thousand bushels, and is 
engaged in tlie stock business and in farming, 
having two thousand two hundred and four and 
a half acres of land in Woodbury and Ida coun- 
ties, Iowa, and also a farm in Antelope county, 
Nebraska. He usually has about one hundred 
head of cattle and in all of his undertakings is 
meeting with Avell deserved success. He retains 
his office in Danbury, where he oversees the 
management of his large business interests, and 
he owns a fine country residence just outside of 
the town. 

In 187.5 ^Ir. Durst was united in marriage 
to Orient Dicus, whose parents were of Ameri- 
can birth and who by a former marriage has one 
son, ]\lark, who was born in 1871 and is now 
married. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Durst are: Kosa, who was born in 1876; Effie 
:\lay, in 1878; Godfrey, in 188.5; and Laura, 
iiorn in 1811.5. All are now at home. Rosa was 
for two years a student at Cornell College and 
spent one year at IMorningside College, while 
Eflle May attended the latter institution for 
five years and was graduated on the 14th of 
May, 1903, receiving a gold medal in a musical 
contest over several contestants. Godfrey spent 
two years at the Culver Military Academy in 
Iiidiima ami two years at Shattuck School, 
FMirlianlt, Minnesota, and is now engaged in 
business with his father. 

Mr. Durst was confirmed in the Zwinglian 
faith but lie and his family now attend the 
^lethodist Episcopal church of Danbury. He 
is a prominent ^lason, having attained to the 
Knights Temjilar in the Scottish rite and is a 
uiemlier of the Mystic Shrine at Cedar Kapids. 
He cast his first presidential vote for General 
V. S. Grant in 1878, but since that administra- 



PAST AND PKES'ENT OF WOODBUIJY COUNTY 



711 



tioii lie Ikis beeu a Democrat. His life has been 
one of industry and nsefiilness and through 
his own well directed efforts and sound judg- 
ment he has acquired a handsome comjjetence, 
which numbers him among the prosjierous as 
well as the highly respected citizens of his 
adouted count v. 



THOMAS A. McCURDY. 

Thomas A. McCurdy, a farmer of Rutland 
township, living on section 10, was born in 
Tama county, Iowa, Sepitember 3, 1807. His 
father, John R. McCurdy, was born in Ireland 
and in early manhood sought a home in the ne\\' 
world, locating first in ISTew Jersey, where he 
married Anna Amanda Y'oung, who was a 
bride of sixteen years. He became one of the 
early settlers of Iowa, establishing his home 
in this state in 1858. He settled in Tama 
county, secured a tract of land and opened uji 
a farm, upon which he reared his family, there 
spending his remaining daj's. In his family 
were the following children: Manches, who is 
in Minnesota ; Esther, the wife of Peter Swau- 
son, of Marshalltowu ; John C, who is the sec- 
ond in order of bii'th ; Jennie, the wife of John 
\Valdo, of ^larshalltown ; Thomas A., of this 
review ; Emma, the wife of Robert Gray, tif 
Iowa; Robert W. ; David J., who is living with 
his brother, Thomas; and Edward L. 

T. A. [^^cCurdy, spending his boyhciod days 
on the home farm in Tama county, became fa- 
milial- with all the labor incident to its cultiva- 
ti<;)u and improvement as he worked on year 
after year rendering his father such assist- 
ance as his age and strength permitted. He 
came to Woodbury county when a young man, 
[ worked on a farm liy the month for several 
I years and thus gained a start in life. After 
I his marriage he rented a tract of land, which 
I he operated for seven years and then bought the 
I place which he now owns. This he began to 
further imiirove and he now has one hundred 



and twenty acres constituting a good farm, 
upon which he is raising various cereals and 
also high grades of stock. He received no 
fimxncial assistance from friends or family nor 
was any influence exerted in his behalf for 
business advancement and his prosperity have 
I'limc as the result of his jicrsistent, honest and 
indefatigable energy. 

In Sioux City on the I'Drh <if Xovember, 
1893, Mr. McCurdy was united in marriage to 
IMiss Mary L. Livingston, a native of Shelby 
county, Iowa, and a daughter of Alexander S. 
Livingston, formerly of ]^ew Y^ork, and one 
of the pioneer settlers of this state. Mr. and 
]Mrs. McCurdy now have two children : Ferrol 
L. and Thomas A. jMr. McCurdy proudly cast 
his first ]iresidential ballot for Benjamin Har- 
rison and has always given his support to the 
3\epublicnn jiarty. He has always lived in 
Iowa an<l rhc pmgress and development of the 
state are matters of deep interest to him, while 
in local affairs in his community he has taken 
an active part, doing whatever he can for the 
general progress and upbuilding. 



W. B. NATION. 



\V. B. Nation, proprietor of the Vendome 
Hotel at Sioux City, has throughout his entire 
business career been identified with hotel inter- 
ests and is therefore thoroughly equipped by 
broad and varied experience to minister to the 
wants of the traveling public. He was born 
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, October 29, 
1867, and is a son of Fred and Margaret 
(Dunn) Nation. His parents removed to Os- 
kaloosa, Iowa, in 187.5, and there the mother 
died in ISSl, while the father is living with 
his son in Sioux City. 

W. B. Nation was only seven years old when 
his parents came to this state and in the public 
schools of Oskaloosa he acquired his education. 
When fourteen years of age he began working 
in a hotel in Portland, Oregon, and afterward 



712 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



weut to Los Angeles, ( 'alifuniia, where he was 
emjjloyed in a simihir iiiaiiiier. His next j)Osi- 
tiou was iu the Hotel Park, at Great Falls, 
Montana, and he afterward purchased the 
Windmau House at Parkston, South Dakota. 
This he conducted for two years and then sold 
out and purchased the Sanborn House, at 
Mitchell, South Dakota. lie disposed of that 
property on his removal to Sioux City in 1893, 
and here he accepted the position of clerk in 
the Chicago House. After filling that position 
for four years he became one of its proprietors 
and so continued until August, 1903, when he 
purchased the Hotel Vendome, which lie now 
owns. He also secured the franchise that year 
for the Western Base Ball league and owns the 
same. 

Mr. Nation was married iu A])ril, 1903, to 
Alice Christopher, a daughter of Eber Chris- 
to]>her, of Decorah, Iowa. They are members 
of the Presbyterian clmrdi and have a wide 
acquaintance in Sioux ( 'ity, where they are 
held in high esteem by many friends. ]\Ir. 
Nation, starting out in life for himself in early 
boyhood, has steadily progressed through his 
own efforts, his faithfulness and care in the 
performance of the duties assigned him, and is 
now conducting a good business in Sioux City. 
where he also owns a good hotel property. 



CARL ]\[EYEB. 



Carl Meyer, wlio is engaged in the insurance 
business in Siou.x City, was born Xovember 10, 
1863, in Hamburg, Germany, his parents be- 
ing Heinrich and Anna (Giehs) Meyer, also 
natives of Hamburg. The father, a basket 
manufacturer, is still living in his native city 
at the age of eighty-two years, but the mother 
passed away in April, 1903. when seventy-six 
years of age. They were the parents of four 
children, all sons, and all became basketmakers 
in Germany. Carl Meyer, however, at the age 
of eighteen vears crossed the Atlantic to Amer- 



ica and niailc his way direct to C/hicago. He 
had acquired his education in the Hamburg 
Seminary and had studied the art of acting, 
his mother having been an actress and from her 
lie undoubtedly inherited much of his histrionic 
skill. In Germany he secured an engagement 
at the Wilhelm theater in 1880, and, establish- 
ing his home in Chicago in 188 1, he became a 
member ()f a German stock company, at that 
time filling engagements in various theaters. 
He remained in Chicago as a representative of 
his art for nine years and in 1890 he came to 
Sioux C'ity, where he obtained an engagement 
with the Sioux (,'ity Turn Verein as instructor 
for members who took part in its amateur the- 
atrical performances. He continued in that po- 
sition until March, 1893. In the spring of 
189.5 he turned his attention to the insurance 
business, in which he has since been engaged 
and now has oflices at No. 53-4 New Richard- 
son block. He represents a number of the old- 
est and most reliable companies, including the 
following: The Gcrmania Life, the Equitable 
Fire and Marine, the Lumbermen's Insurance 
Company, the Mechanic's, the Milwaukee Fii-e, 
the 8])ring Garden Insurance Comjiany, and the 
National Union Insurance Company. He wi'ites 
a large amount of business each year, liis poli- 
cies representing extensive sums. 

On the 10th of June, 1893, occurred the mar- 
riage of Mr. Meyer and Mrs. Phoebe (Hoefler) 
Schudell, the widow of William Schudell. She 
was born iu Hessen, Germany, and came to the 
United States in 1875, making her way to a 
home of an uncle in LTtica, New York. Mr. 
Meyer is a member of the Sons of Herman and 
is now grand secretary of the society, a posi- 
tion which he has filled since the organization 
of the order in 1896. He has also filled all of 
the chairs in the local society and he is a 
charter member of the Germania Society and 
also belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles. 
His political allegiance is given to the Democ 
racy. He is of social, genial nature and in- 
Sioux (^itv ho lins made manv friends not onlv 




CAKL MEYEK. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



715 



among the representatives of the fatherhmd 
but among all jjeople with whom he has come 
in contact. 



H. B. \YALLING. 



H. B. Walling, who is one of the prominent 
young lawyers of Woodbury county and has 
now practiced his j)rofession at Anthon for sev- 
eral years, is a native son of Iowa, whose career 
reflects credit iipon the state. He was born 
in Dubuque county, January 27, 1S72, and is 
a son of Herman H. and iMaria 11. (Hiller) 
Walling. The father was born in Munster, 
Germany, AjDril 11, 1842, and when a child of 
seven years was brought to Iowa, being reared 
in Dubuque. There he was married to Miss 
Maria H. Hiller, a native of Dubuque, born 
of German parentage. They removed to Wood- 
bury cinuity in 1878, located u])nn a wild tract 
of land in Miller township, and in course of 
time Mr. Walling develojied a well im])roved 
farm. He made a nice home, reared his family 
there and spent his last years on the farm 
which he had improved, jjassing away in 18y0. 
His wife still survives him and has many 
friends in Woodbury county. 

H. B. Walling acquired his early education 
in the common schools and supiilcmentcd his 
preliminary course by study in GarroU lousi- 
ness College. He pursued a course in law in 
the State University of Iowa and was gradu- 
ated with the class of 1S'.)7, after which lie 
located for practice at Anthon on the 21st of 
July of that year. In his chosen profession he 
has demonstrated that he possesses the qualities 
which are always strong elements in the success 
of members of the bar. He prepares his cases 
with great thoroughness, is logical in his de- 
ductions and presents his case in a forceful 
manner and with clear and cogent reasoning. 
He practices in the various courts of this ]iart 
of the state and has indeed made an enviable 
record for legal abilitv. He has also engageil 



in liuying and selling real estate in Woodbury 
county and in Iowa and his real estate dealings 
have been no unimportant element in the en- 
viable success which he has already achieved. 
He is likewise a stockholder in the Citizens 
Bank of Anthon and was one of its founders. 

On the 16th of August, 11)00, in Stewart, 
Guthrie county, Iowa, Mr. Walling was united 
in marriage to Miss Mae C. Wolfe, who was 
born in Carroll county, Iowa, and is a daugh- 
ter of Edward and Catherine Wolfe, of that 
place. Mr. Walling has erected a new resi- 
dence in Anthon and there hosi^itality abounds. 
The best homes of the community are also open 
for the recep)tion of himself and wife and their 
circle of warm friends is an extensive one in 
this community. Both were reared in the faith 
of the Catholic church, of which they are now 
communicants, and lie is connected with the 
Knights of Columbus fraternity. Politically 
he is a stanch Republican, supporting the men 
and measures of his party with unfaltering 
loyalty and he has twice been elected and 
served as mayor of Anthon, while at the pres- 
ent time he is a member of the city council. 
He has also been a delegate to numerous con- 
ventions of his party. He is one of the most 
prominent and influential residents of this 
place who by perseverance, determination and 
honorable effort has overthrown the obstacles 
which barred his path to success and is travel- 
ing steadily upward to the goal of pi'osperity, 
where his genuine worth, l)r(iad mind and pub- 
lic spirit have made him a director of public 
thouo'ht and action in Anthon. 



AUGUST RATH. 



August Rath, a mason and contractor of 
Sioux City, is one of the worthy sons that Ger- 
nmny has furnishe<l to the new world, for his 
birth occurred in the fatherland in the year 
1864. He is a son of William Rath, who was 



716 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



born ill Goniiauy ami there f(illci\ve(l the uceiipa- 
tion of farming for many years. He did mili- 
tary service in the wars of 1848 and 18C4 in 
Germany and remained a resident of that land 
until 1882 when he crossed the briny deep to 
the new world, locating in Rock to'^^niship, 
Woodbury count}', Iowa. There he carried on 
farming for sixteen years and his death oc- 
curred on the 4tli of October, 1901, when he was 
eighty years of age. Both he and his wife were 
members of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Kath 
bore the maiden name of Dora Hope and was 
also a native of Germany. Her death occurred 
in 1888, when she was sixty-four years of age. 
In their family were seven children, five of 
whom are yet living. August Rath, whose 
name introduces this review, acquired liis edu- 
cation in the schools of his native country and 
when he had mastered the branches rif learning 
given through piililic instruction he took up the 
trade of masonry, serving an apj^rcnticcship, 
after which he followed the pursuit in Germany 
until he came to America with his father. Here 
he worked upon the home farm for eleven years 
and then resumed lalior at his trade. In IMai'ch, 
1896, he located in Sioux City and began con- 
tracting as a mason. His work here has been 
attended with a full measure of success and he 
annually receives a good patronage which re- 
turns to him a gratifying financial reward. 

My. Rath was married August 26, 18SS, to 
Miss Johanna Grimsmann, a daughter of 
Clauz J. Grimsmann. She was born in Ger- 
many in 1803 and by her marriage has become 
the mother of ten children, nine of whom are 
yet living. Both Mr. and ]\Irs. Rath are mem- 
bers of the Lutheran church and he is identified 
with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, 
while his political allegiance is given to the 
Democracy. He is well known in business cir- 
cles here for his energy and reliability and his 
life record proves that success may be accom- 
plished through determination and persistent 
thrift, guided by iiitc^lligence and ]irompted by 
laudable ambition. 



JACOB A. BUNX. 

Jacob A. Buun, who since 1893 has con- 
tinuously filled the ottice of county supervisor, 
a fact which is indicative of the trust and con- 
fidence reposed in him by his fellow men, is 
now living a retired life in Pierson, but for 
many j-ears he was actively engaged in business 
as a farmer and contractor. He has resided 
in Iowa since 1855 atid in Woodbury county 
since 1874. He is a native of England, his 
birth having occurred in Burkamstcad near 
London, on tlie 1st of January, 1844, a son 
of James Buim, alsi;i a native of Englan<l. The 
father crossed the Aliantie about 1850 and es- 
tablished his home in Ohio, near Cleveland. 
About 1855 he came to Iowa, settling in Du- 
buque county, and there Jacob A. was reared, 
acquiring a good education in the common and 
high schools. He was just twenty years of age 
when he oifered his services to the country in 
defense of the Union cause, enlisting in 1864 
as a member of Company A, Forty-fourth Iowa 
Infantry. He went south to Tennessee and 
Mississippi, wliere he did guard duty, serving 
for about four months or until after the close 
of his term of enlistment. He was then hon- 
orably discharged at Davenport, Iowa, in Oc- 
tober, 1864. 

Upon his return home ilr. Buun began work 
at the carpenter's and joiner's trade and in 
1869 he removed to Ida county, where he con- 
tinued the work of carpentering until 1874. 
He then came to Woodbury county and located 
on a farm and in addition to general agricul- 
tural pursuits he engaged in business as a con- 
tractor and builder, erecting school houses in 
this county and building county bridges and 
school houses in Cherokee and Ida counties. 
His attention was directed to the diial pursuit 
for several years. He then bought additional 
land in Ida county, where lie opened up a farm 
and later he bought land in Lhiion township, 
Woodbury county, estalJishing his home tliere- 
on ill 1S74. He had two liiindred acres and 
from time to time lie added to this property 




J. A. BUXN AND FAMILY. 




MR. AND MRS. M. N. PEARSON. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



721 



until he owned two tlioxisaud six hundred and 
twentj-eight acres, but he has since deeded his 
son one hundred and twenty acres in Union 
township, his daughter Cora May one hundred 
and sixty acres in Dakota and Mary J. a like 
aniount in Dakota. Mr. Bunn now owns five 
hundred and twenty-four acres of rich and 
aralile land, yielding to him a golden tribute. 
He has good buildings and improvements upon 
his place, iu fact, he added to his farm all 
modern equipments and accessories and trans- 
formed the land into most jDroductive fields. 
Annually he harvested good crops which brought 
to him very desirable financial return and thus 
in course of time he had accumulated the com- 
jietence that now enables him to live retired. 
In 1899 he removed to Piersou, purchasing a 
lot on which he built a residence. Later he 
sold that ]n-operty and built where he now re- 
sides, having just comiileted a modern and com- 
fortable home which stands on a tract of sixty- 
three acres of land. He has been one of the 
successful business men and farmers of the 
county and his prosperity has come to him as 
the just reward of his untiring labors. 

Mr. Bunn was married in Cherokee county, 
Iowa, September 3, 1872, to Miss Frances A. 
Pearson, a native of Livingston county, Illionis, 
born near Pontiac, and a daughter of Moses H. 
and Mary Jane (Pindell) Pearson. Moses 
Pearson M-as born in ISTew Hampshire and be- 
came one of the early settlers of Illinois. He 
was married in the latter state to Miss Mary 
Jane Pindell, a native of Brown county, Ohio. 
Mr. Pearson removed to Iowa about 1854, 
settling in Woodbury county, and within its 
borders he developed several farms. On more 
than one occasion he was driven out by the In- 
dians and he later took up his abode in Cher- 
okee county. He is now living in Wyoming, 
wliere he is identified with agricultural inter- 
ests. Pearson creek was named in his honor 
as was also the toM-n of Pierson, though the 
name is spelled differently. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bimn are the parents of five children : irary 



Jane, who is now the wife uf ( 'hris iluudy, a 
resident farmer of Cherokee county, ]iy whom 
she has two children, George A. and James; 
Cora, wife of Edward Kissinger, a resident 
farmer of Union township, by whom she has 
three children, Milo James, KTellie Florence and 
Martha Frances; Washington Andrew, who 
died at the age of foiir years; George, who is 
now a student in Montana; Florence, the wife 
of Charles Walters, a farmer of Union town- 
ship, liy whom she has one son, Arthur. 

Politically Mr. Bunn is a Repuhliean where 
national issues are involved, but at local elec- 
tions does not consider himself boimd by party 
ties. He was elected and served as township 
school treasurer, as trustee and director and in 
1893 he was elected supervisor of the county 
and has served continuously since, being chair- 
man of the board for three years. He is the 
only member that has served continuously 
throughout this period and the fact that he has 
so long been continued in ofiice is proof of the 
confidence and trust reposed in him by his fel- 
low men, who regard him as a gentleman of 
excellent business ability, of unquestioned loy- 
alty in citizenship and of marked devotion to 
the public good. He belongs to the Grand 
Army post at Correction ville and was its com- 
mander for one term. 



JACOB S. EGGER. 
For twenty-three years Jacob S. Egger has 
been actively identified with the agricultural 
and industrial interests of Woodbury county 
and is accounted one of the valued citizens of 
Willow township. His early home w-as in 
Ohio, for he was born in Monroe county, that 
state, on the 9th of May, 1851, a son of Sam- 
uel and Magdalena (Chrismann) Egger. His 
paternal grandfather was born in Switzerland 
and came to America about 1815 or 1820, and 
after spending five or six years in ISTew Jersey, 
removed to Monroe county, Ohio, locating in 
that region when it was almost an unbroken 



722 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



wilderness. In his family were six sous aud 
one daughter. The subject of this sketch had 
five brothers and two sisters. 

In his uative state Jacob S. Egger passed 
the days of his boyhood aud youth and obtained 
the greater part of his education in the common 
schools, though he attended a uoi-mal school 
for four weeks. Tie remained under the pa- 
rental roof until twent\'-four years of age aud 
continued a resident of Ohio four years longer. 
It was in 1881 that he came to Iowa and took 
up his residence in Woodbury county, being in 
the employ of Henry Steiuehoff for one year. 
During the foUnwing two years he rented the 
old Hopper farm and engaged in its i;i]:)eration. 
Having saved a little money, he then pur- 
chased his present place in Willow township, 
and to its cultivation and impnivt'ment he has 
since devoted much time and attention. Dur- 
ing early life he learned the carpenter's trade 
with his father, who followed that pursuit, and 
since coming to Iowa he has erected many 
houses and barns in his locality and also built 
the Evangelical church at German City. He 
is now building a fine house of his own, which 
is a two-story structure with garret and con- 
tains ten rooms. There is a cellar under the 
entire house, having a cement floor, and con- 
tains the bath room. The walls of the rooms 
are finished in hard plaster and the inside wood 
work is of cypress. The house will be modern 
and thoroughly up-to-date in all its appoint- 
ments. It is ^Ir. Egger's intention to build a 
reservoir mi a hill just above the house, into 
Avliich he will force the water by means of a 
wind pnni]i. and have pipes laid to house with a 
hydrant i'l the kitchen. Upon his place he has 
a fine orchard with ninety hearing peach trees 
aud about two hundred apple trees which yield 
their fruit in season. He is a very progressive 
and energetic farmer and in connection with 
the cultivation of the soil is engaged in rais- 
ing horses, cattle and hogs of a good grade. 

Mr. Egger was married in Ohio in 187") to 
Miss Augusta Steinh<ifl', who was born on the 



0th of June, 1856, aud they have become the 
parents of ten children, four sons and six 
daughters, namely: Henry S., who was a car- 
penter by trade, died June 17, 1',>0;J, at the 
age of twenty-seven years. Edward J., Albert 
F. B., Charles, Kosa, Annie, Freda, Lyda aud 
Lydia, twins, and May are all at home. Al- 
bert also follows the carpenter's trade. 

In his jjolitical afliliations Mr. Egger is a 
Democrat, and in religious faith is connected 
with the Evangelical church. Upright and 
honorable in all his dealings he commands the 
respect and confidence of those with whom he 
is brought in contact and the success that he 
has achieved in life is certainly well merited, 
it having been secured through untiring indus- 
try, perseverance and good management. 



E. E. SELMSEK. 

E. E. Selmser, whose carefully directed ef- 
fiirts as a real estate operator of Sioux City, 
ha\e made him one of the successful and lead- 
ing representatives of the business here, was 
born in JohnstOAVu, Xew ^'ork, in 1859 and ac- 
(juired his early education there, but completed 
it in Xew Haven, Connecticut, where he at- 
tended the Collegiate & Commercial Institute. 
He entered ujiou his business career as a repre- 
sentative of commercial interests, securing a 
clerkship in Jackson, Michigan, and when he 
came to Sioux City in 1882 he accepted a posi- 
tion as salesman with the firm of Jumlt & 
Tompkins. He was afterward engaged in the 
boot and shoe business for six years, but not- 
ing the rapid and continuous growth of the city 
of his ailiiptiim he lielieved that he would find 
a more profitable field of labor in real-estate 
dealing, aud severing his connection with mer- 
cantile pursuits in 1889 he has since devoted 
his energies to the ])urchase and sale of prop- 
erty. The sticcess that has attended his efforts 
bears witness to the wisdom of his choice of a 
Vocation. He is now eneaeed extensivelv in 




E. E. SELMSEE. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



725 



liuying and selling both improved aud unim- 
]iroved property, with an office on the second 
rioor of the Brown block and he negotiates many 
important real estate transfers. He is thor- 
oughly conversant with realty values and own- 
erships, has made judicious investments and 
protifal)le sales and is well known as a success- 
ful and reliable real estate dealer. 

Mr. Selmser was married September 27, 
1884, to Miss Georgie Hagy, a daughter of 
John and Mary (Post) Hagy, of Sioux City. 
^Irs. Selmser was born in this city. May 24, 
1863. Mr. Selmser is a prominent Mason, 
and among his brethren of the craft he has 
wiiu many warm friends. Coming to the 
middle west in early manhood his business ca- 
reer has l)reathed the spirit of enterprise and 
advancement so characteristic of this section of 
the country and to jiis own disecrnmeut, care- 
ful management and intelligent efl'ort lie owes 
his prosjjerity. 



MATHTAS C. CARLSTROM. 

Sweden has furnished to the United States 
many bright, enterprising young men who have 
left their native country to enter the business 
circles of America with its more progressive 
methods, livelier competition and advance- 
ment more (juickly secured. Among its number 
is ilathias Carlstrom, avIio in early manhood 
sought wider fields in which to give full scope 
to his ambition and industry — his dominant 
qualities. He found the opportunities he 
sought in the freedom and appreciation of the 
growing western jiortion of America and though 
born across the water he is thoroiighly Ameri- 
can in thought and feeling and is fui'thermore 
sincere in his love for the stars and stripes. 
His career is identitled with the history of 
Sioux City, where lie has acquired a compe- 
tence, and where be is now an honored and 
respected resident. 

Mr. Carlstrom was born in Sweden in 1839, 
spent the days of his boyhood aud youth there 
and acquired his education in tlie jmlilic schools. 



In the year 1870 he bade adieu to friends and 
native country' and crossed the Atlantic, estab- 
lishing his home in Sioux City, Iowa, where 
he secured employment in the marble works 
of Wingert & ISTicholson. He had learned the 
trade of marble-cutting in Sweden and he 
worked for that firm for four years, when with 
the capital he had acquired through his indus- 
try and economy he embarked in business for 
himself, establishing a shop of his own in 1877. 
He was first on Pearl street and later on Doug- 
las street. In 1888 he established his present 
business. He is now the oldest representative 
of this line of industrial activity in Sioux City 
and in connection with his marble-cutting busi- 
ness he is an importer of marbles and granites. 
His shop is located at No. 812 Fifth street, and 
he has done most of the fine work in his line 
in the state of Iowa since eml)arking in the en- 
terprise. He keeps thoroughly in touch with 
the progress that has been made in the trade 
and some fine specimens of his handiwork are 
seen in the cemeteries of this part of the state. 
Mr. Carlstrom was married in Sweden, June 
IC, 1857, the lady of his choice being Miss 
Helen Peterson. Unto them have been born 
four children, three daughters and one son: 
Henrietta Louise, the wife of Abel Anderson, 
])resident of the Northwestern National Bank, 
of Sioux ( 'ity ; Annie, the wife of N. Neilan, 
who is in partnerslii]) with Mr. Carlstrom; 
Mary, wdio is a student in the Bethany College 
at Louisburg, Kansas, and the only son, who is 
associated with his father in business. The 
family hold membership in the Swedish church, 
of which Mr. Carlstrom was one of the organ- 
izers and charter members. The church was 
formed Mdth only eiglit memliers, but has had a 
steady and continuous growth and ^Ir. Carls- 
trom inis lieen an active factor in its work and 
upbuilding. His study of the jiolitical ques- 
tions and issues in bis ado]ited country has led 
him to give an earnest and unfaltering support 
to the Rejmblican ])arty. The liojie tliat led 
bini to leave bis native land mihI seek a home 



i26 



PAST AND PRESEXT OF WOODBl'PY COUNTY 



iu America lias been more than realized. He 
found the opportunities he sought — which, by 
the way, are always open to the ambitious, en- 
ergetic man — and making the best of these he 
has steadily worked his way upward. He 
possesses the resolution, perseverance and relia- 
bility so characteristic of people of his nation, 
and his name is now enrolled among the best 
citizens of Sioux Citv, Iowa. 



erxp:st a. reymax. 

Ernest A. Reyman, whose home farm of four 
hundred and seventy acres is pleasantly lo- 
cated within a mile and a half of Gushing, is 
classed with the enterprising and progressive 
agriculturists and stock-raisers of Rock town- 
ship. He is an old settler of the state, having 
located in Clinton county, Iowa, in 1S55. His 
residence in Woodbury county dates from 1S91. 
Mr. Reyman is a native of Germany, his birth 
having occurred in Saxony on the 11th of 
March, 1851. His jjarents were John and 
Anna Dorothy (Schneider) Reyman, both of 
whom were natives of Germany, the former 
born Angnst 4, 1810. They became the pa- 
rents of six children while still living in the 
fatherland and in 1852 they crossed the Atlan- 
tic to the new world, locating first at ililwau- 
kee, Wisconsin, wliorr he remained for some 
time. Subseiiuently they settled in Illinois, 
where they lived for four years and on the 
expiration of that period they took up their 
abode in Clinton county, Iowa. Mr. Reyman 
engaged in railroad construction woi"k for sev- 
eral years, but afterward took up his abode on 
a farm in Clinton county, renting land there 
for seven years. With the capital he thus ac- 
quired he pui'chascd a tract of land six miles 
west of Lyons, Clinton county, which he oper- 
ated until ISTfi. He then lived with his son 
Ernest, with whom he remained \intil his death, 
which occurred about Decemlx'r 28, 1882. 
His wife passed away in 1ST5. 



Ernest A. Reyman passed his boyhood days 
in the usual manner of farmer lads, being 
reared upon the old home place in Clinton 
county, wiiile in the public schools of the neigh- 
borhood he acquired his education. To his 
father he gave the benefit of his services until 
twenty-five years of age and then started out 
in life for himself. As a companion and help- 
mate on life's journey he chose Miss Louisa 
Ileitt, their marriage being celebrated in Clin- 
ton county on the 4th of October, 1875. She 
was born in Racine, Wisconsin, and was of 
German parentage, being a daughter of John 
and Louisa Heitt, both natives of Baden. In 
her girlhood days she went with her pai'ents to 
Illinois and subsequently came to Iowa. 

]Mr. and ilrs. Reyman began their domestic 
life ujion a farm in Clinton county, where they 
resided until ISIH. when he sold his property 
there and came to Woodbury county, purchas- 
ing the quarter section on which he now re- 
sides. Here he began to improve his farm and 
tlie same fall he built a good house. Later lie 
bought more land and from time to time has 
extended the boundaries of his farm until it 
now comprises four hundred and seventy acres 
in one tract. He also has eighty acres iu 
Douglas township, Ida county. Upon this 
place are good farm buildings, well kept fences^, 
the latest improved machinery and all modern 
accessories of a model farm. He is engaged 
in stock-raising, feeding stock for the market, 
and he sells annually about six carloads. His 
Inisiness interests have thus developed to ex- 
tensive proiJortions and his enterprise and en- 
ergy have been resultant factors in winning 
him a success which is most commendable and 
desirable. 

T'uio ^Ir. and ^Irs. Reyman have lieen born 
ten children, who are yet living, and they also 
lost their first born in infancy. The others 
are George W., Luella E., John A., Charles F., 
William G., Hattie E., Loretta C, Florence 
Cora. Frank L. and Ernest Rodney, all at home. 
Politicalh ^Mr. Revman is an earnest Repub- 




E. A. EEYMAX AXD FAMILY. 



PAST AXD PRESE^vT OF W(30DBURY COUNTY 



729 



licau, keeping avcII informed on the tpiestions 
and issues of the day. yet never seeking 
office as a reward for party fealty. lie was 
Ijtit one year of age Avheu broiight by his parents 
to the United ■ States and has since lived in 
Iowa, during which time his life has been in 
accord with the progressive spirit of the time, 
which has led to the rapid and marvelous de- 
velopment of this portion of the country. 



WILLTAJM 'M. BAKER. 

William M. Baker, who is residing on section 
-t, Union township, where he is engaged in gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising, has a valuable 
property of three hundred and twenty acres. 
He is a native of Iowa, his birth having oc- 
curred in Johnson county on the 29th of ISTo- 
vember, 1S59. His fatlu'r, Lh.yd Baker, was 
born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, March 
2, 183-"^, and was there reared and educated. 
When a young man he went to Johnson county, 
Iowa, and later removed to Benton county, 
this state, where he owned and operated two 
hundred and forty acres of land which he im- 
proved. In Johnson county, he married Miss 
]\Iary E. Alt, who was born February 28, 1837, 
a daughter of J. W. and Jane (ilalory) Alt, 
pioneer settlers of Johnson county. Her father 
who was burn in April, 1815, is still living. 

William !M. Baker was reared in Benton 
county, Iowa, upon his father's fai-m. He re- 
ceived fair school advantages and when not en- 
gaged in the duties of the schoolroom continued 
the tasks of the farm until twenty-one years of 
age, rendering capable assistance to his father. 
He was then married in Benton county on the 
3d of Xovember, 1882. to Miss Jennie E. Whit- 
' ing, who was born in Linn coiinty, this state, 
I September 0. 1861, and is a daughter of Samuel 
I and Jane ( T\ichards(in) Whiting. During the 
I Civil war her father enlisted in the Twentieth 
Iowa Volunteer Infantrv and died in the ser- 



vice. Her mother afterward uutrried again 
and removed to Benton county. ^Irs. Baker, 
however, was principally educated in Linn 
cotmty. ilr. Whiting was a relative of Abra- 
ham Lincoln. 

In the spring following their marriage jMk 
and ^Irs. Baker removed to Woodbury county, 
locating on their present farm. lie at first had 
but one hundred and sixty acres of land. This 
he began to develop and cultivate and later as 
his financial resources increased he purchased 
an additional tract of a quarter section, so that 
he now oAvns three hundred and twenty acres of 
the rich farming land of Iowa. He has built 
a good house and barn, has planted an orchard 
and, in fact, has made the farm what it is to- 
day, one of the desirable properties of this por- 
tion of the county. He raises the various 
cereals adapted to the soil and climate and in 
addition he raises good grades of stock. He 
now makes a business of feeding from eight to 
ten carloads of cattle each year, together with 
a large number of hogs and his annual sales 
reach a very profitable figure. He is widely 
recognized as a successful agriculturist and 
business man, and he certainly deserves great 
credit for what he has accomplished as all that 
he possesses has come to him through his own 
labor. He has worked persistently and his dili- 
gence and enterj)rise have formed the basis of 
a very desirable success. 

Unto ]\Ir. and ^Frs. Baker have been born 
three children ; Delia, who is the wife of George 
Elser, of Union township ; Orpha and Lloyd, 
both at home. Politically ilr. Baker is a Re- 
publican, but has never sought or desired ofiice. 
He and his wife are members of the United 
Evangelical church and he belongs to Pierson 
Lodge, I. O. O. E. He is one of the prosperous 
and successful farmers and business men of 
Woodbury county, where he has lived for over 
twenty years. He is thoroughly interested in 
its development and jirogress and in all matters 
of citizenship he has taken a public-spirited 
part. 



730 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COl'NTY 



JOSEPH SPIAY. 

Joseph Shay, a farmer and stock breeder re- 
siding on section 26, township 26, Union coun- 
ty, South Dakota, just across the border line 
from Woodbury county, Iowa, and well known 
in the latter county and in Sioux C'ity, was 
born in Canada, July 2, 1834. His parents, 
Joseph and Mary (Patrioad) Shay, are both 
now deceased. In early life he began work as 
a farm hand and in 1855 he went to Illinois. 
Subsequently he removed to Michigan, where 
he was employed in a sa^vinill and on the 21st 
of October, 1856, he arrived in Sioux City, 
where he began the work of driving an ox-team 
from Sioux City to Fort Eandall and Fort 
Pierre. In those pioneer days, accompanied 
by Mr. Brugular, he went to Fort Pierre to 
trade with the Indians and when they no longer 
had any stock Mr. Shay was sent back to Sioux 
City for further supplies. While he was gone 
the Indians made his partner a prisoner and 
when he returned they also captured him. It 
was the plan to put botli men to death in the 
morning, and to avert this ^Iv. Shay and his 
partner gave the Indians all of their stock, 
amounting to about five thoiisand dollars and 
while they were dividing this the two white 
men made their escape to an island over the 
river, there remaining for eleven days before 
they could proceed on the return trip to Pierre. 
Engaged in driving cattle in South Dakota 
during the memorable winter of 185? the party 
with wliieli lio was associated suffered many 
har(lshi])s. Tlirough six weeks they subsisted 
upon wild wolf meat and corn. In April they 
arrived at their destination and upon their re- 
turn trip they found that the swollen waters 
of Shiloh creek impeded their progress. How- 
ever, they crossed in a canoe, which was later 
lost in the current of the river. With his 
four comrades Mr. Shay floated doAvn the St. 
James, Init they lost their clothing and pro- 
visions. At that point they found two men 
and for supper the party of four dined upon 
a single duck. From tlmt j^ioint they traveled 



four days without food. Continuing on their 
way they, however, at length arrived in Sioux 
City in safety. In the fall of 1858 Mr. Shay 
went to Pikes Peak, where he engaged in min- 
ing, returning, however, in the fall of 1860. 
On his way back in 1859 he was taken prisoner 
by the Indians at Running Water, ISI^ebraska, 
together wnth his comrades. Then again they 
gave the Indians all their supplies and money 
in order to obtain their release. Some of the 
savages wanted to kill the prisoners and some 
objected to this course and Chief Little Thun- 
der befriended them and sent six or eight of 
the braves to accompany them on their way 
after they were released. 

On again reaching Woodbury county Mr. 
Shay entered the claim on which he now lives, 
thus becoming the owner of one hundred and 
sixty acres. As his financial resources in- 
creased, however, he extended the boimdaries 
of this fai-m and he now has four hiindred 
acres of fine land in Union county, South Da- 
kota. In addition to general farming he is 
engaged in the breeding of black Galloway and 
l)lack polled cattle. He is also buying cattle 
on an extensive scale and his efforts in this 
lino of business are bringing to him very de- 
sirable success. 

On the 28th of October, 1863, :Mr. Shay 
was married to Miss Julia Lemoges, a daugh-* 
ter of Peter and Julia Lemoges, natives of 
New York. Her parents are now deceased. 
They were, however, among the first settlers of 
Jefferson, and St. Peter's church now stands 
im n ]iart of tlie old homestead ; in fact, the 
hind was given by ]Mr. Lemoges for that pur- 
pose. T^nto Mr. and Mrs. Shay have been bom 
twelve children : John, who died at the age 
of sixteen years: !Marv, the Avife of Phil Pac- 
qnett, a contractor at a brickyard at Piverside; 
Celene, the wife of Frank Bany, of Armour, 
South Dakota ; Charles, who died when only 
three days old ; Fred, who is married and fol- 
lows farming at Lincoln, South Dakota ; Peter, 
who is married and is engaged in farming in 




JOSEPH SHAY. 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



733 



Union county, South Dakota ; Ida, the wife of 
Giinther ThomiDson, of Castlewood, South Da- 
kota ; Albert, deceased ; Josephine, the wife of 
Oscar Unger ; Joseph ; Clarence, deceased ; and 
Ernest. Albert and Clarence were killed, the 
latter May 24, 1904; and Albert, on the 25th 
of May. They were both miirdered apparently 
ill cold blood by John St. Piene, within iifty- 
tliree rods of Mr. Shay's home. The unmar- 
ried children are all at home. 

]\Ir. Shay has taken an active interest in the 
material, educational and moral development 
of his community. He has been school trustee 
for twelve years, has also been school director 
for several forms and assisted in buildinc^ the 
first schoolhouse in his locality. He and his 
family are members of the Catholic church of 
Sioux City and are widely and favorably known 
in the communitv where they make their home. 



JOIIX H. WRIGHT. 



One of the extensive land owners and pros- 
perous farmers of Woodbury county is John 
11. Wright, who is living on section 21, Arling- 
ton township. He has a very rich and arable 
tract of land of seven hundred and fifteen acres, 
and his farm is improved with all modern 
eipiipments, so that his jjlace is one of the most 
desirable properties of his part of the county. 

IMr. Wright is one of Iowa's native sons, his 
birth having occurred in 1858, in Guthrie 
county, about twenty miles from Des Moines. 
His ]iarciits were Anderson and Martha 
(Brown) Wright. The father is a native of 
Indiana and removed to Iowa about forty-five 
years ago, becoming one of the early settlers of 
Guthrie county. After a number of years he 
removed to Woodbury county, establishing his 
home on section 4, Arlington township, where 
he took u]i a homestead claim. With charac- 
teristic energy he began tlie cultivation and 
improvpuiont of the place, and thougli he lived 
here during the period of the grassliopper 



scourge and through hard times, he persevered 
in his work and at length triumjihed over many 
dilHculties and obstacles. About 1902 he re- 
moved to Oklahoma, where he is now living at 
the age of sixty-eight years. His wife, who 
was a native of Missouri, died in Guthrie coun- 
ty, Iowa, at the age of twenty-seven years, 
when her sou John was but nine years of age. 
He was the eldest of four children. 

Two years after the removal of the father to 
Woodbury cotmty John H. Wright also came 
and was here reared and educated. His train- 
ing at farm labor was perhaps more compre- 
hensive than his training in the schoolroom, 
for his services were needed on the old home- 
stead. After arriving at years of maturity he 
began farming on his own account, securing a 
tract of land of forty acres, upon which he now 
resides. He worked hard and persistently and 
soon his crops brought to him a substantial 
return for his labor. As his financial resources 
increased he invested in other land from time 
to time until his possessions now aggregate 
seven hundred and fifteen acres. Ho has 
erected a good residence, well furnished, has 
also built a fine barn, has secured the latest 
imjiroved machinery and indeed has one of the 
best improved and equipped farms of his town- 
ship and county, and all has been acqxiired 
through his o^vn labors. 

In 1879 Mr. Wright was united in marriage 
to Miss Mary Wagner, a native of Carroll coun- 
ty, Illinois. Her father came to Woodbury 
county in 1877, settling on section 21, Arling- 
ton township, and his death occurred in 1885. 
His widow is still living and makes her home 
in Lake cotmty, South Dakota. She is the 
mother of ten daughters, all of whom are liv- 
ing. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wright have been 
born four children: Hattie, Fred, Frank and 
Harvey. Having fur many years been a resi- 
dent of this county, Mr. Wright has witnessed 
the many changes which have occurred as it has 
emerged from pioneer coTiditions to take its 
place in the front rank with many of the older 



734 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBUPY COUXTY 



settled eountios i)f tlic state, ami with ilic pnli- 
lic progress he has also kept pace in his busi- 
ness career, working his way npward from 
humble business surroundings until he now 
controls extensive and important agricultural 
interests. 



HOX. GEOKGE E. OERTEL. 

Hon. George E. Oertel, who is serving as 
Mayor of lloville and who has been closely 
identified with public interests and business 
activity in the to^vn for a number of years, is 
a native sou of Woodbury county, his birth 
having occurred Xovember 28, 1872, in a little 
log cabin which stood upon his father's farm in 
Grant township, about two and a half miles 
from Oto. His parents were John and Lydia 
(Robins) Oertel. The father, Imrn in Ger- 
many, was probably only aboiit a year old when 
brought to America by his parents, who settled 
north of Oto in the '50s, being among the 
pioneer settlers of northwestern Iowa. There 
John Oertel was reared amid the wild scenes 
of frontier life early became familiar with 
the arduous task of developing and cultivat- 
ing new land. One of his early business 
ex])erienees was in a butcher shop in Sioux 
City, then a town of two or three hundred in- 
habitants. During the greater part of his life, 
however, he followed farming and stock-raising, 
becoming the owner of one hundred and fifty- 
five acres of good land on section 30, Miller 
township, and one hundred and twenty acres in 
Grant township. When he started out in life 
for himself he had only a wagon, team and 
harness, and all he possessed came to him as 
a result of his own labor and diligence. His 
wife was a native of Pennsylvania and they 
were married in Woodbury county, ^[r. Oertel 
died when about thirty-eight years of age and 
was buried in Oto cemetery, and his wife passed 
away in 1892, when about thirty-nine years of 



age. They were the ])arents of five children, 
of whom three are now living. 

George E. Oertel was reared upon his father's 
farm and educated in the public schools. He 
assisted in the work of the old homestead until 
seventeen years of age, when he M'ent to Oto and 
for two years clerked in a restaurant which his 
mother conducted. He afterward learned the 
barber's trade there and a year later he left 
the county. He was later employed in various 
ways and in various places for four or five 
years and then came to Moville, where he has 
since remained. Here he became a real-state 
and insurance agent, in which business he has 
since continued, and he has also engaged in 
dealing in farm implements as a member of the 
firm of Oertel & Jones, his partner being T. F. 
Jones. His close application to business here, 
his progressive methods and modern business 
ideas have lieen resultant factors in his success 
and made him one of the leading representa- 
tives of trade interests in Moville. 

In October, 1898, Mr. Oertel was married 
to Miss Hattie Wright, a daughter of H. 
Wright, one of the early settlers of the county, 
and they now have two children, Lome J. and 
Clayton. Both Mr. and Mrs. Oertel are widely 
known socially and Mr. Oertel is equally promi- 
nent in public aifairs in Moville. In 1901 he 
was appointed by the city council to the posi- 
tion of luayor to fill a vacancy and at the en- 
suing election was chosen for the office on the 
Citizens ticket. In the discharge of his duties 
he is prompt, efficient and reliable and his ad- 
ministration is businesslike and progressive. 



ASA P. SMITH. 



Asa P. Smith, whose lif& actuated by strong 
jDurpose and business energy has resulted in 
making him one of the substantial residents 
of Woodbury county, has a farm one hundi-ed 
and sixty acres in Wolf Creek toAvnship. He 
is numbered among the early settlers of the 




JOH^" OEETEL. 



PAST AND I'lJKSKXT OF WOODRrUY rOlXTY 



'37 



state, a half centurv liaviug passed since he 
came to Iowa, establishing his home at that 
time in Polk county. He is a native of Illi- 
nois, born in Fulton county, on the 2!1th of 
January, 1S41. His father, Asa Smith, was 
one of the eai'ly settlers of Illinois and served 
as a soldier in the Black Hawk war. lie was 
married in Fulton county, that state, to iliss 
Anna Wilcockson. whose birth occurred in 
South Carolina. Through a number of years 
ilr. Smith carried on agricultural pursuits in 
Fulton county, being numbered among the 
pioneer settlers of that part of the state. 
There he died in the year 1841. His wife 
survived him for some time and reared her 
family there. She afterward married again 
and in 1S54 came to Iowa, the family home 
being established in Polk county. 

Asa P. Smith is the youngest of five chil- 
dren who were born of the first marriage, four 
of whom reached years of maturity. Xo 
event of special imjiortance occurred to vary 
the routine of farm life for him in his yotith. 
He had common-school advantages and was 
trained to the work of the fields, early becoming 
familiar with the task of plowing, planting 
and harvesting. As a companion and help- 
mate on life's journey he chose iliss !Mary 
Emerv and they were married in Polk county 
on the 18th of November. lSt>0. She was 
born in Pennsylvania, b\it was reared in Illi- 
nois and Iowa, and after their marriage they 
began their domestic life in Polk county, where 
they remained until 1SS2, when they came to 
Woodbury county. Here ilr. Smith purchased 
a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres 
in ^'olf Creek townshij'), upon which a few im- 
provements had been made. This place he at 
once began to cultivate and later be erected a 
good residence, also built a good barn and sheds 
for grain and stock. He planted an orchard 
and there is a grove of native trees upon the 
place. Year after year he has labored per- 
sistently and along progressive lines and he 
carried on his farm work at that place until 



1S!I5, when he rented his original farm in 
Erie county and bought eighty acres adjoining 
the toMii in which he has a good residence. 
He has since disposed of sixty acres and he 
now devotes his time in keeping his home place 
in good condition and raising the cereals best 
adapted to soil and climate. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been 
blessed with two children : Jacob H., of 
Anthon, who is married and has one daughter. 
Hazel Esther; and Ethel, the wife of A. J. 
Walker, of IMcCook county, South Dakota, by 
whom she has one child, Mary Helen. The 
parents are members of the ilethodist Epis- 
copal church and Mr. Smith is independent in 
his political views, casting his ballot regardless 
of party affiliation. His first presidential bal- 
lot was cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1S64. He 
has served in Wolf Creek township as road 
supervisor and township trustee and he is in- 
terested in all that pertains to public progress 
and improvement there. He commenced life 
for himself a poor man and worked as a farm 
hand until he had made it possible to purchase 
land for himself. Ho is modest and unassum- 
ing in manner, caring not for notoriety and 
well deserving the praise that is usually given 
to a self-made man and the high regard which 
is accorded him bv his friends. 



FREDERICK J. ROSE. 

Frederick J. Rose, deceased, was numbered 
among the highly esteemed and honored citi- 
zens of Willow township, where he made his 
home for several years and where his family 
still reside. He was born in Germany on the 
15th of August, 1840. and in early life came to 
America with his parents, the family locating 
in Ohio, where the father died in 1868. The 
mother afterward came to Iowa and spent her 
remaining days in this state, dying here in 
1880. 

On reaching manhood Frederick J. Rose 
was married to "Nfiss Jane Julia Steinhoflf, who 



rss 



PAST AND Pl{f:SENT OK WOODBUKY COUNTY 



was born in ( icniKiiiv, mi the i"Jtli of Septem- 
ber, 1S4-1:, and is a daniiiiter of Henry and 
Julia (Yostj Steinliort', both now deceased. 
She has three brothers and live sisters still 
living, while one sister is deceased. Mr. and 
JVIrs. Kose became the parents of eleven chil- 
dren, nine of whom survive tlie father, name- 
ly: John H., born January 29, 1866, and 
Henry J., horn October 6, 1867, own and op- 
erate a fine farm of oui' hundred and sixty 
aci'es, on which tlicv have erected good liuild- 
ings for the care of grain and stock and in flie 
cultivation of their laixl use the latest im- 
proved machinery. Jnlia, born !May l-'>, ISGO. 
is the wife of John Kochart and lives south of 
German City. Lonise M., born April 23, 1875, 
is the wife of John Bnrkhart and lives near her 
sister, Mrs. Kochart, on the Bhiff road. Ed- 
ward G., born April 14, 1878, George E., born 
]\Iay 13, ISSn, ]\liniiic .M., born September 4, 
1882, Fred A., born December '>. 1SS.5, and 
Otto J., born April 26, 1SS9, are all at home 
with their mother. 

It was in ISSl that Mr. Rose came to Iowa 
and took np his residence in Willow township, 
Woodbury county, where he followed general 
farming and stock-raising throughout the re- 
mainder of his life, coming into possession of 
one hundred and twenty acres of rich and ara- 
ble land. He was a memlicr of the Evangelical 
Lutheran church and was a Democrat in his 
political views. After a useful and well spent 
life he died on the 13th of June, 1903, leaving 
many friends as well as his immediate family 
to mourn his loss. He was five feet nine inches 
in height, weighed one himdred and sixty-five 
pounds, was of light complexion and dark hair. 

Mrs. Kose and her younger children still 
live on tlio farm, A\liicli tlie sons now operate. 
Upon the place are found good grades of cattle, 
horses and hogs and they make a specialty of 
Duroc hogs, keeping seventeen sows for breed- 
ing pui'poses. George E. has two fine, well 
broken horses of the famous Wilkes stock. The 
sons are all fine looking voung men and the 



family is one of prominence in the community 
where thev reside. 



WILLIAM A. BARKETT. 

William .V. Barrett, president of the Nation- 
al Ihisincss Training School of Sioux City, 
was born here August 17, 1873, and his life 
record stands in contradistinction to the old 
adage that a i>rophet is never without honor 
save ill his own country, for in the city of his 
nativity he has won the respect and confidence 
of his fellow men, and the value of the insti- 
tution of which he is now the president is 
widely acknowledged. He has directed his ef- 
forts along lines demanding strong intellectual- 
ity and practical ideas of modern business 
progress, and his labors have Ijeen attended 
with gratifying results. 

]\lr. Barrett is a son of John and Annie 
( Killkinney) Barrett, both of whom were na- 
tives of Ireland. The father died in 1883, at 
the age of forty-six years. He had crossed the 
Atlantic prior to the Civil war, locating in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in 1871 came 
to Sioux City, Iowa. He was a sailor in early 
life, but afterward followed railroading in 
Iowa and devoted his last years to farming. 
^Ir. Barrett of this review was educated in 
Plymouth county, Iowa, attending the public 
schools and later entering the N^orthwestern 
Business University of Sioux City, where he 
pursued a course in 1891. Subsequently he 
was graduated from the Metropolitan Business 
College in 1894 and then continued in the 
school as instructor in shorthand, booklceeping 
and normal work. He discontinued this in 
19(»2 and, joining II. E. Roister, established 
the National Business Training School of 
Sioux City. He had made a close study of 
the needs of such an institution, of the de- 
mands of the business world for competent 
employes and felt that he could improve upon 
conditions and lu-actices then in use in dif- 





NATIONAL 



BUSINESS 



TRAINING 



SCHOOL 



\V. A. BARRETT, FresidcLit. 








SIOUX CITY 



Woodbury 



County 



IOWA 




^ 




H K, REISIER, Secretary and Manager 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOUDBUEY COUNTY 



m 



ferent business colleges. He became president 
of the new institution, while Mr. Eeister is 
firincipal and manager. They are equal part- 
ners in the enterprise, which from the begin- 
ning has been attended with very gratifying 
success. The jSTational Business Training 
School now occupies the whole of the third 
floor of the Union station and has facilities 
equal to those found in similar institutions in 
the large cities of the United States. The 
school opened its register for enrollment of 
students on Monday, March 31, 1902, and at 
the close of that day twenty students had been 
enrolled and were at work, while at the close 
of the first month the number had increasd to 
forty-six. Since that time the biisiness has 
steadily grown and at the close of the first year 
the actual number of students that attended 
was three hundred and thirty. The object of 
the school is to thoroughly j^repare young peo- 
ple for life's work, to give them practical and 
not theoretical training, students receiving the 
same treatment while attending school that they 
would were they to enter the employ of a busi- 
ness firm. All unnecessary theory and copy 
work has been taken out of the cotirse and 
practical business principles put in their place. 
The class methods of instruction have been 
abandoned so that each pupil advances in his 
studies just as fast as he is able to do the 
work neatly and accurately. The business 
course includes bookkeeping, shorthand and 
typewriting and the course of instruction em- 
braces those branches, also writing, business 
practice, business arithmetic, rapid calculation, 
spelling, grammar, touch typewriting, mani- 
folding, mimeograph work and ofiice experi- 
ence. There is also a special penmanship 
course and writing is taught by music, which 
is a new feature in school work. It adds much 
interest to the work and makes the writing hour 
one of the pleasant periods of the day. It is 
the theory of the teachers that a relaxation 
of the muscles of the hand and arm must form 
a part of good penmanship and this result is 



accomplished through the use of music, the 
students forgetting themselves and keeping 
time to the music, so that they improve much 
more rapidly than by any other method and 
their writing is also more uniform and legible. 
This is the only school in the country that 
has a complete railway system, with models 
of the modern trains, operated by electricity, 
running on schedule time and hauling freight, 
express and mail just as in the business world. 
There is likewise a telegraph course, and a part 
of the work of the school is the physical and 
moral training of the pupil in addition to his 
intellectual development. The jiroprietors rec- 
ognize the fact that health is the foundation of 
all success and to this end they have estab- 
lished a military drill for boys, having a com- 
plete military department, equipjied with regu- 
lar Springfield rifles, and all young men are 
expected to take this work in connection with 
their regular study. The company is in charge 
of competent officers and instructors and the 
same discipline is maintained as in regular mil- 
itary work, a large room being set apart as an 
armory and regular instruction given each day. 
The girls, too, have their physical culture de- 
partment. The proprietors have adopted as 
their motto "Ability acquired, confidence in- 
spired" and their work indicates that they are 
fully living up to this. Already large numbers 
of their students are occupying responsible po- 
sitions and their work is proving most satis- 
factory and the institution has attained a suc- 
cess of which the president and principal have 
every reason to be proud. 

Mr. Barrett is also interested with his broth- 
ers, Joseph P. and Daniel L. Barrett, in a 
farm in Plymouth county, comprising seven 
hundred acres and supplied with all modern 
improvements. It is well stock with high 
grades of cattle and horses and the stock is 
annually sold by the carload. Mr. Barrett has 
also been interested in a stock ranch in Hand 
county. South Dakota, but since the organiza- 
tion of the National Business Training School 



74:2 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



his attention lias chiefly been given to its con- 
duct and upbuilding. 

On the 4th of ISTovember, 1902, occurred the 
marriage of Mr. Barrett and Miss Rose A. 
McGrain, of Struble, Iowa, a daughter of 
Henry and Katherine ]\IcGrain, of Struble, 
PljTnouth county. Mrs. Barrett was a teach- 
er in the public schools of Plymouth, Iowa, and 
also taught m\isic, and is now musical instruc- 
tor in the National Business Training School. 
Mr. Barrett is a member of the Fraternal 
Choppers and was worthy council for two 
years. He is also identified with the Wood- 
men of the World and of the Knights of Co- 
lumbus. He and his wife are Catholics and 
attend the Cathedral of Sioux Citv. 



HAllRY E. REISTEE. 

Harry E. Keister is secretary and manager 
of the National Business Training School, 
which was established about two years ago, has 
had a successful though brief career and is 
destined to become one of the strong insti- 
tutions of its character in the northwest, for its 
practical metliods appeal to the intelligent ob- 
server and their value has been proven in busi- 
ness life. ]\Ir. Keister was born in Louisa 
county, Iowa, in 18(57, a son <<{ Eilward P. 
and Harriet (Stronacb) Roister. The pa- 
ternal grandfather, Adam Roister, was a native 
of Holland, whence he emigrated to .\merica, 
and after residing in Maryland for some time 
removed to Chillicothe, Ohio. He came to the 
United States with two brothers, John, wlio 
went to Canada, and Harry, who settled in 
Maryland and died soon afterward. Adam 
Roister was jn-ominent in the early Indian wars 
(if Ohiii and was an expert with the sabre. His 
skill and nu'ritorious conduct won him promo- 
tion to the rank of a colonel in the United 
States service. By trade he was a carpenter. 
William Stronach, tli(^ maternal grandfather. 



represented a ])rominent family of Scotland 
and at an early day emigrated to America, 
settling in ^laryland. He removed to Chilli- 
cothe, Ohio, aboiit the same time the Roister 
family was established there. He was a plas- 
terer by trade, but in the later j^art of his life 
followed the oceujjation of farming. He had 
two brothers, Eben and Austin, who died and 
were buried in Loiiisa county, Iowa. The par- 
ents of our subject are natives of jMaryland, 
Imt resided for some time in Ohio and in 1840 (I 
became residents of Burlington, Iowa. They 
also resided in Louisa county, where ilr. 
Roister followed the occupation of farming. 
Taking up his abode in Columbus City, Iowa, 
he there remained until 1889, when he removed 
to Keokuk county, this state, and later to Ap- 
panoose coiinty, coming thence to Sioux City 
in September, 1903. 

Harry E. Roister, whose name introduces 
this review, was educated in the Eastern Iowa 
Xornial School at ('dlumlius Junction, this 
state, attending during the years lS8?)-4. In 
1887 he was a pu]^il in the Iowa Commercial 
College at Davenport, completing his course, 
while later he began teaching penmanship, giv- 
ing instruction in that art in different places 
in the state. He was thus engaged until 1890, 
wjien he became acquainted with a business 
scliool in northeastern Missouri, and from 1893 
until 1899 iie was supervisor of penmansliip 
an<l principal of the commercial de])artment 
of the high school at ( 'enterville, Iowa. He 
was also supervisor of writing in all of the 
schools in Appanoose county, Iowa, duriuii' this 
period of six years. 

In 1899 he arrived in Sioiix City and dur- 
ing the following year was traveling salesman 
for the Ciidahy Packing Company. During the 
succeeding year he Avas connected with a whole- 
sale firm as Itookkeeper and cashier and for a 
year and a half was associated witji the work 
of instruction in Brown's Business College at 
Sionx City as head of the commercial depart- 
ment. On the 31st of March, 1902, associated 



PAST AXD PEESEXT OF WOODBrPY COFXTY 



743 



with William Barrett, lie opened the Xatioiial 
Business Training School of Sioux City. Tie 
believes that in the training of yonng people 
for life's practical duties three things should be 
considered — their mental, their moral and 
their j^hysical de\'elopnient — and his i<lea has 
been embodied in the work of the school. X(jt 
only are the boys and girls prepared for the 
duties of biisiness life that they may success- 
fully perform the work of bookkeepers, clerks, 
stenographers or salesmen, but they are also 
ecpiipped to meet the physical demands made 
upon them by their physical training, and ef- 
forts are made to instill high moral principles 
without which no actual commendable success 
is secured. Both of the proprietors of tlie 
school are capable teachers, well trained in 
their specialties, and under their guidance the 
school is making rapid jjrogress and giving to 
the business world students whose eiforts are of 
real value in the conduct of trade transactions. 
Xo teachers are employed excei)t those who 
have had actual bvisiness experience. The at- 
tendance at the present time is one hundred and 
fifty students, and a year and a half after the 
opening of the school the number who had done 
actual work therein was six Inindred. ilarch 
1, I'.KM, the school was incorporated under the 
laws of the state of Iowa, the capital stock be- 
ing ten thousand dollars. Mr. Keister is a 
member of the State Teachers' Association and 
of the Federation of Commercial Teachers' As- 
sociation. 

Mr. Keister has been twice married. In 
1890 he wedded Miss Lillie Carpenter, of Co- 
lumlius Junction, Tnwa. \\\u> ilied in 1895, 
leaving one child, Glenn iM. In June, 1899, 
he was again married, his second marriage be- 
ing with ]\Iiss Nellie Stecker, of Sioux City. 
IMr. TJeistcr is a member of the Fraternal Chop- 
pers of America, of the Knights of the Maccf.- 
bees, the Knights of Honor, the Knights of 
Pythias and the Woodmen of the World, and 
he also holds membership relations with the 
irethndist Eiiiscojinl church. 



TTXCOLK" A. KOBIX^SOX^ 

Xo state in the Union has better farming 
lauds than Iowa and there are no more pro- 
gressive agriculturists to be found in America 
than reside in this state. Their labors have 
made the soil most ^aroductive and as the result 
of their eifort rich harvests are annually gar- 
nered, furnishing a large food sujjply to the 
country. Mr. Robinson, engaged in general 
farming on section IG, Kock township, where 
he has a valuable quarter section of land, was 
born in Jones county, Iowa. Fel.iruary 15, 
1861. His paternal grandfather, Asa Kobin- 
son, was one of the pioneers of this state, set- 
tling in Jones county in 1840, when there were 
few residents within its borders. His son, 
Charles Robinson, the father of our subject, 
was born in Chami^aign county, Ohio, in 1824, 
and was therefore a youth of sixteen when he 
came with his parents to this state. He as- 
sisted in the arduous task of developing the 
home farm and after reaching adult age he 
was married in Jones county to Miss Teressa 
E. Reynolds, whose birth occuired in DuPage 
coimty, Illinois, and who M-as a daughter of 
William Reynolds, one of the early settlers of 
Linn county, Iowa. Mr. Robinson began 
farming in Jones county and wpon the old 
homestead there he reared his family. In 
1875 he removed to Shelby county, this state, 
and bought a farm of two hundred acres, iipon 
which he spent his remaining days, passing 
away in 1893. His wife survived him for a 
few years and died in Xovember, 1898. In 
their family Avere seven children who reached 
years of maturity and were reared upon the 
home farm. 

L. A. Robinson spent his boyhood and youth 
as did the other members of his father's house- 
hold. He attended the public schools and when 
not engaged with his text-books assisted in the 
cultivation of the home farm, so that he gained 
a practical and valuable knowledge of the oc- 
cupation which he has made his life work. He 



744 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



came to Woodlnirv county iu 1SS2 and on the 
22d of October, of tliat vear, be secured a com- 
panion and helpmate fur life's journey, being 
married at that date to Miss Alice Coon, a 
native of Wisconsin, and a daughter of George 
Coon, one of the early settlers of the Badger 
state. In December, 1882, Mr. Kobinson pur- 
chased a tract of raw laud and opened up a 
farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Eock 
township, whereon he resided for five years. 
He then sold that property and purchased his 
present farm land, covering a quarter section. 
This is on section 16, Kock township, and it is 
a monument to his life of enterprise and thrift, 
for he broke and fenced the place and has made 
all of the improvements here found. Shade 
trees were planted by him and he also set out 
an orchard and much small fruit. He placed 
the fields under a high state of cultivation and 
in connection with general farming he has en- 
gaged in stock-raising and breeding, making a 
specialty of pure-blooded Poland China hogs 
and shorthorn and Durham cattle. Plis busi- 
ness is now capably conducted and is attended 
with desirable financial results. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson has 
been blessed with six children, Ina, Chloe, 
Howard, Vernie, Clarence and Eexcy. The 
parents are members of the Rock Center Chris- 
tian church and Mr. Robinson has served for 
several years as Sunday-school superintendent, 
while in the various church activities he takes 
a deep and helpftil interest. He is a JMaster 
Mason, belonging to the lodge at Correction- 
ville, and in politics he is independent, voting 
for the candidates whom he thinks best quali- 
fied for office, regardless of party affiliations. 
There have been no exciting chapters in his 
life history and yet it is the record of one who 
has been found faithful to the duties of citizen- 
ship and to the tie? of family and friendship. 
Such a man deserves and receives the respect 
and confidence of his fellow men and Mr. Rob- 
inson is held in high regard by all with whom 
he has been associated. 



JAMES LEE. 

James Lee is a successful farmer and stock- 
raiser of Listoii townshi]i, owning and oper- 
ating a nice farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres. He was born in London, England, on 
the 18th of October, 18-iO, a son of William 
and Mary Lee. He began his education in his 
native land and after coming to America at- 
tended school both in Chicago and Wisconsin, 
])ursuing a high school course. llr was the 
eldest son iu a family of seven children, the 
others being Joseph, Charles, William, Kate, 
^lary and Ann. 

At the age of fourteen years ^Ir. Lee came 
to the new world Avith his father, the mother 
and other children remaining in England. 
Their destination was Marquette county, Wis- 
consin, and they passed through Chicago when 
there was no bridge across the river where the 
McCormick Harvester Works are now located 
and no houses from there to the lake shore on 
either side of the river. At night, when seven 
miles out of Chicago on the Michigan Central 
Railroad, the train on which they were pas- 
sengers collided with another ami thirty-five 
persons were killed and many wounded. The 
engine of the other train struck the car in which 
were Mr. Lee and his father at a crossing 
and the former had his hand caught in the 
liroken timliers. He managed to pull himself 
loose, but the hand was severely injured. He 
then got his father from the Avreck, lait the 
father had one arm, a leg and several ribs 
broken and had to be taken to a liospital in 
Chicago, where he was all summer getting well. 
During that time our subject attended the city 
schools. When his father had sufficiently re- 
covered to proceed on his journey they took 
a boat for Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and then on 
foot traveled through various towns — Eond dn 
Lac, Neenah and ^lenasha — and on to Lake 
Winnebago in search of a farm. They once 
stop]ied over night at a ]i]ace in the woods 
many miles from any habitation, their ln'ist be- 
unx a Mr. Wliite, and the room lo which they 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



745 



were assigned fm- the night ■was a rcguhir 
arsenal, the walls being covered with guns, 
knives, etc. The father had considerable money 
in a belt aronnd his body and fearing that he 
had been led into a trap for the purpose of 
robbery watched all night long, but fortunately 
nothing happened. lie finally purchased a 
farm of eighty acres in Marquette county of 
a Mr. Moss for three hundred and fifty dollars, 
but was unused to western ways and soon found 
that the farm was mortgaged as well as the 
team and horses, for which he had paid seventy- 
five dollars. The fann was located about fifty 
miles north of Mailison and in that city he 
spent the following summer, working at the 
mason's trade, our subject being with him. In 
the fall he went to Illinois, where he was taken 
ill, and from Chicago he again i-eturned to his 
Wisconsin home, where he was joined by his 
wife and the other children in the next fall. 
They came to this country in the spring, but 
on reaching Manitowoc, Wisconsin, no one 
could tell them where our STd:)ject and his father 
were living, their postofiice being at an un- 
known place called Mclntyre. The mother and 
children were ill with fever and ague at Mani- 
towoc for two months. During that fall the 
father contracted a severe cold while digging 
a well through thirty feet of solid sandstone 
with chisel and hammer and died on his farm 
in the winter of 1856. 

After his death James Lee left home and 
went to Columbia cottnty, Wisconsin. He 
spent the first night in a German hotel and, as 
his possessions consisted of only a jack-knife 
and fifty cents, he told his first fib — telling 
the landlord that he had no money. The knife 
was therefore accepted as pay. He continued 
his search for Avork and while stopping at the 
Blue Tavern he \vorked for the proprietor, ]\Ir. 
Gage, for his board. However, he soon found 
employment on the farm of IMr. Tripp at thir- 
teen dollars per month, and his employer's wife 
was very kind to him. 

While there Mr. Lee met iliss Edna Smith, 



a daughter of William Smith, who was also a 
native of England and a potter by trade, having 
come to this country with a colony of potters. 
He died, however, in March, 1851, soon after 
locating in Wisconsin, when his daughter was 
only seven years old. She was born ]\Iay 9, 
1844, in Staffordshire, England, and was four 
years of age when the family settled in Wis- 
consin. On the 10th of October, 1863, she 
gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Lee. Unto 
them have been born seven children, four sons 
and three daughters, namely: W. J., S. B., 
C. H. and G. A. Lee, Mrs. [Mary L. Schrunk, 
Mrs. Lillie R. Williams and :\Irs. Ethel P. 
Upham. All are married and all live in Iowa 
with the exception of Mrs. Williams, who on 
the 16th of March, 1903, removed with her 
husband to Alberta, Canada. Mr. and Mrs. 
Lee also have seventeen grandchildren and, sur- 
rounded by relatives and many friends, they 
arc a happy and contented couple, ilrs. Lee 
has two brothers and two sisters, namely : Wil- 
liam, Samuel, Rachel and Hannah. 

During the Civil war Mr. Lee manifested 
his lovaltv to his ad(>i)ted country by enlisting 
September Ifi, 18(11, in the Eleventh Wiscon- 
sin ^'olunteer Infantry, with which he served 
for three years. He continued to make his 
home in Wisconsin until the 14th of June, 
1870, when he came to Woodbury county, 
Iowa, the journey being made l)y team and 
consuming three weeks. His first ero]) here 
was destroyed hx hail and the second by tb.e 
grasshoppers l>ut lie did not allow himself to 
become discouraged and making the most of 
every advantage he soon met with success. In 
those early days the prairie fires often swept 
from Sioux City to Dennison and back again, 
a distance of eighty-five miles. There were 
no churches nearer than twelve miles from his 
home and the first schoolhonsc^ in the locality 
was built by himself and neighbors, the sehool- 
lioard furnishing the material and the men 
doing the work for nothing that their children 
miii'ht he educated. The little temple of learn- 



746 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



ing was only twelve bv sixteen feet iu dimen- 
sions, but here many a child gained his first 
knowledge of the common school branches. 



THO]\IAS H. KALSTOI\T. 

Thomas H. Ilalston is one of the extensive 
landowners of Woodbury county, his realty 
holdings comprising eight hundred acres of rich 
and arable land. His home is in Kedron town- 
ship and he is nnml)ered among the early set- 
tlers of the state, having been a resident of 
Iowa since 1855. He has lived in Woodbury 
county since 1889 and throughout this portion 
of the state he is held in high regard, because 
of his business ability, his devotion to the gen- 
eral good and his fidelity to all the duties and 
obligations of private life. 

Mr. Ealston was born in Ohio, a native of 
Wellsville, Columbiana county, his natal day 
being January 5, 1840. His father, Robert 
Ealston, was born in Pennsylvania and was a 
son of Eobert Ralston Sr., who removed to 
Ohio about 1815 during the second decade after 
the admission of that state into the Union. He 
settled in Richland county and upon the old 
homestead there Robert Ralston Jr. was reared 
to manhood amid the wild scenes of frontier 
life, assisting largely in the development of 
the home farm. He was married in that local- 
ity to Miss Harriet Hurford, a native of Ohio, 
and after remaining in the Buckeye state for 
a number of years Robert Ralston Jr. rcmo\-ed 
with his family to Iowa in 1855, settling in 
Clinton county, where he opened up a farm 
and reared his family. He spent his remain- 
ing days there and was actively identified with 
the substantial upbuilding and improvement of 
that part of the state. During the terrible tor- 
nado, June 3, 1860, his family escaped unin- 
jured, although several lumdred in that local- 
ity were killed and many injured. 

Thomas H. Ralston was reared in Clinton 
county, Iowa, n])c)n tlic nld lionic farm. He 
attended the common schools and also the hio-h 



schools of that locality and subsequently he 
went to Chicago, where he was engaged in busi- 
ness, being in that city at the time of the great 
Chicago fire, one of the most disastrous that 
has ever occurred iu the history of America. 
In 1872 he went to California and was engaged 
in mining at Virginia City for about ten years. 
His experience there was such as iisually fell 
to the lot of the miner, who is sometimes suc- 
cessful and again meets with reverses, ilr. 
Ralston returned to Iowa in 1889, locating in 
Sioux City, where he was employed in the in- 
surance business for a number of years. In 
1882 he ju^rchased land in Kedron township 
and hired men to break and fence this. He 
also has two sets of buildings erected on the 
farm and lie now has over three hundred acres 
in bine grass pasture. He rents this land and 
gives his attention to its supervision. Every- 
thing about his place is kept in excellent condi- 
tion in keeping with modern progressive ideas 
of farming and his property is the visible evi- 
dence of his life of thrift, industry, economy 
and capable management. 

Mr. Ralston was united in marriage in Cali- 
fornia in 1874 to Miss Georgia A. Congdon, 
a native of Iowa, and a daughter of George 
Congdon, who went to California in 1849. 
Subsequently he removed his family there and 
Mrs. Ralston was there reared and educated. 
There is only one daughter by this union, 
Stella, tlie wife of Perry S. Tracy, of Cali- 
fornia. 

Politically Mr. Ralston is a lifelong Repub- 
lican, but has never sought or desired office, 
preferring to give his time and attention to his 
business affairs, in which he has met with ex- 
cellent success. He spends much of his time 
in Iowa, looking after his interests here and 
his family remain in California. He is a man 
of good business ability and unqiiestioned in- 
tegrity in matters of trade and these sterling 
(pialities have gained for him the goodwill and 
coiifidence of all with whom he has been asso- 
ciated. 




THOMAS H. RALSTON. 



PAST AN'D PRESKXT OF WOODIUHY CorX'IA' 



?4!) 



JOIIX F. r.KOOKS. 

John F. lirooks, who is wiuuiiig success as a 
liimbor ami coal merchant at Pierson, was born 
in Favettc county, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of 
Scptenilier, l^^.MX His father was Joseph E. 
Brooks, who was lioru in Fayette county iu 
lS-'57, anil was rhert' roared to manhood. He 
nmrried Eliza ^1. Fuller, wlidse lurtli occurred 
in Fayette comity, January I'O, lS;jii. Her par- 
ents were hoth li<irn near Jnhnstown, Pennsyl- 
vania, where they wt'ro married and tiu'u re- 
moved to Fayette county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. 
Prooks was the oidy child of that uui<in. ^Irs. 
Fuller came to Harrison county, Iowa, and took 
up her home with her daughter, ]Mrs. J. R. 
Brooks, after the death of an uncle, J. M. Mur- 
ray, witii whom she liad heen living after her 
husband's death. . Joseph 11. Prooks was a 
soldier of the war of the reludlion, serving with 
a Pennsylvania regiment. He had followed 
farming in Fayette county and subsecpiently he 
removed to Carroll county, Illinois, Init was 
oidy permitted to enjoy his new home for a 
year, his death occurring in ISTl. His wife 
survives him and resides with a son in Wood- 
bury county. In 1882 the family came to Iowa, 
locating in Harrison cottnty, and John F. 
Brooks has since been a resident of this state. 

In Carroll county. Illinois, Mr. Brooks 
largely spent the days of his boyhood and youth 
ami his early educational privileges afforded by 
the common schools were supplemented by more 
advanced learning accpiired in colleges. In early 
manhood he chose a companion and helpmate 
for lil\''s journey, being married in Carroll 
county on the I'd of January, 1881, to ]\riss 
Ella Turnbangii, a miti\-e of Pennsylvania, in 
which state her father, Joseph Turnbaugh, was 
also born, reared and married. Penioving west- 
ward, he locateil in Lee county, Illinois, and 
subsecpu'utly tiiok u]) his abode in ( 'arroll coun- 
ty, that state. Mrs. Brooks is a lady of sujjerior 
education and refinement and is a graduate of 
Cornell College of Iowa. 

After his mari'iage ]Mr. Brooks engaged in 
farminii' in Harrison count v and later iu W 1- 



bury couiuy, Imt iu ISlli' retired from agrictd- 
tural life and established a hardware store iu 
I'icrson. He conilucled it for several years 
and then sold out and took charge of a l)usi- 
ness cntt'rprisc for other parties. In 1902 he 
took charge cd' the lumber and coal business 
which he has now successfully carried on for 
two vears. He is a progressive man, conducting 
his interests along modern business lines and 
finding as he takes each forward step opportn- 
nitv for still greater advaiu'cment and progress. 
He has erected a business house and a resi- 
dence here iu Pierson and is now the owner 
of a valuable farm near the town and has a 
half interest with his brother in another farm. 
He is especially active in anything calculated to 
advance the business prosperity and activity of 
Pierson and is a representative of that class 
of citizens who strenuously uphold the political 
and moral status oi' a community and support 
all movements that teml to prove of direct ami 
permanent benefit to their fellow men. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have been liorn 
four clnldren: Cleveland F., Alice, Vera and 
Wavne. The fanuly have a pleasant home iu 
Pierson and the circle of their friends is al- 
most co-extensive with the circle of their ac- 
cpiaintances. ^Mr. Brooks is a Democrat iu his 
political views and was elected and served for 
two years as mayor of Pierson. He has also 
been assessor of the town for twelve years ami 
has been a meud)er of tlu' sch<iol board for 
twelve years. The cause of education finds in 
him a warm and helpful friend and he does 
everything in his power to promote the inter- 
ests of the schools and render them efficient by 
the employment of good teachers. He was large- 
ly instrumental in securing the building of the 
Pierson schoolhouse, although he met with 
nnich opposition in this movement at first. He 
has serveil as a delegate to nunu'rous county 
ami state conventions of his party and his opin- 
ions carry weight in its local councils. Fra- 
ternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows 
lodge at Pierson, iu which he has filled all of 
the chairs. 



HISTORICAL 



By HON. C. R. MARKS 



The History of Wuudhnry comity properly 
begins with its political organization as such, 
and its settlement ; but the territory embraced 
within its limits had a history long before that, 
and it will not be considered out of place to 
recall the various governmental and political 
sovereignties of which it has formed a jnirt. 

There is but little data from which we can 
tell of its occupation by the aborigines prior to 
the discovery of America by the Spaniards. 
There are no great evidences of a settled pop- 
ulation at that time, such as mounds and rem- 
nants of domestic implements, though in places 
near our borders are signs in the way of kitchen 
mounds with their broken pottery and burial 
places, showing there had been settlements in 
this region for a considerable period before 
the last century of a people more domestic than 
the roving Sioux Indians wIki were the last 
occupiers. But this Indian population must 
have been small ; Bancroft estimates there were 
never more than twenty-five thousand Indians 
in the regions from Ohio to Iowa. 

This region was not visited by whites until 
a long time after Columbus discovered the 
Western Hemisphere, and it was many years 
before explorers paid much attention to the 
interior part of the continent, so far distant 
was the Iowa country from its ocean borders. 

Sailing vessels, being the only means of navi- 
gating large waters, were almost useless for 
ascending swift rivers like the Mississippi and 
Missouri, and there was enough to occupy the 
energies of navigators along the sea coast. 



Ferdinand l)c Soto discovered the Missis- 
sii)pi river early in the spring of 1.542 when 
on his expedition overland from Florida. Aft- 
er De Soto's death his followers built a small 
boat and in July, 1543, descended tlu; lower pare 
of the river to its mouth, and Spain, having 
discovered all the coast along the Gulf of .Mex- 
ico, claimed it all, including the territory from 
the gulf to the source of the rivers that flowed 
into it. 

Balboa discovered the Pacific ocean in 1513 
and, not knowing its extent, claimed it as a 
private sea in behalf of the Spanish crown, 
and under discoveries later by Spanish navi- 
gators along the Pacific coast, Spain claimed 
the whole southern and western part of jSTorth 
America, though its navigators and explorers 
had but a dim idea of what was in the interior. 

Undoubtedly this country along the Missouri 
was within the limits of their claim. This 
claiming by right of discovery all the territory 
tributary to the coast or to its source from the 
mouth of a river discovered, was in the early 
years of American conquest a favorite subject 
of international dispute, which was generally 
settled liy the strong arm that was able to oc- 
(•U])y and hold the territory itself. 

Spain does not a]i])('ar to have made any 
settlements in, or pcnnanently occupied the 
great Mississi])|ii vnllry. The French made 
early settlement in the portion of Canada acces- 
sible by the St. Lawrence river and the Great 
Lakes, and from their national habits and char- 
acteristics made friends with the Indians; and 



752 



PAS'I' AM) I'KKSKXT OF \V( lOI )|U'T;Y COT'XTY 



thoir niissiouaries were more courageous, and 
self-denying in their religious zeal for the con- 
version of the savages than others, aud were 
the most industrious explorers, and were not 
so infatuated with the mania for finding gold 
as were the Spanish farther south. 

The chain of the Great Lakes penetrated to 
the interior and the French soon heard from 
the Indians of the great river in the west, and 
the further west along the lakes they went the 
more they heard. Lake Michigan had been dis- 
covered by the French, and missionaries met 
tlie Indians in council at places on both sides 
of this lake early in the seventeenth century. 
Pierre Claude Allouez had navigated Lake 
Superior in September, 1665, and heard from 
the Indians of the great river farther south. 

About 1668 and 166!) Father Jacques Mar- 
quette had conceived the idea of exploring this 
great river and spent some time studying the 
languages of the Illinois Indians. 

The French goveroment had also conceived 
the idea of taking possession of the western 
part of Canada, and sent Nicholas Perrot to 
hold a council with the western Indians. He 
assembled them from all directions at a great 
council at the falls of St. ilary, the outlet 
of Lake Superior, which was held in May, 
1671, and Perrot made a treaty with them, 
and took them all under the protection of 
France, thus leaving the Indians far and near 
in a friendly frame of mind. Marquette was 
making his preparations at Point St. Ignace on 
the north side of the Straits of Mackinac be- 
tween Lakes Huron and IMichigan, Avhich was 
then considered the key to the frontier posts. 

In May, 1673, Marquette, as a representative 
of the church, with Louis Joliet, as a repre- 
sentative of the French government, with five 
French boatmen, left Point Sf. Ignace on his 
journey to lind the Great Kiver. 

Tlii'v went to Green T!ay, Wisconsin, up the 
Fox river to a ]\lianii and Kiekapno village, 
the extreme limit to which any white man had 
theretofore penetrated, 'riieie he got two In- 



dian guides aud June 10th started for the 
Wisconsin river, and reaching it, floated down 
the river into the so long anxiously looked for 
ilississippi river, and down it, apparently not 
stopping in Iowa till near the mouth of the 
Des Moines river, where, June 25th, they land- 
ed and went inland to this river, holding con- 
ferences with the Illinois Indians there, and 
taking possession of the country in the name 
of France. 

They continued on down the Mississippi 
past the mouth of the Missouri, which the In- 
dians called Pe-ki-ta-no-ni, going as far south 
as the mouth of the Arkansas river. They re- 
turned from there to Canada ; Joliet made maps 
of the journey and the coimtry, but these maps 
were lost on their return journey. 

Father ilanpiette made a map of the region 
through which he journeyed and marked the 
rivers and the location of the Indian tribes, 
and appears to have learned little of the great 
length of this Pekitanoni (Missouri river), as 
he only marks it as of short length, but marks 
the location of numerous Indian tribes to the 
northwest relatively correct. 

Among these tribes are the Oumessourit and 
Maha. 

In 1078 Cavelier de La Salle started from 
( 'anada aud the Great Lakes, and in 1680 sent 
Father Louis Hennepin down the Illinois river 
and up the Mississippi past Iowa, aud in 1682 
La Salle himself came down the Mississippi 
and speaks of a tribe of Indians called Aiou- 
nonia (^loway) and descended the ilississippi 
to its mouth, and claimed all the valley of this 
river and its tributaries as lielonging to France 
by right of discovery and occupation and 
named it Louisiana, in liomir of his sovereign, 
Louis XIV. 

So we might assert that our state at this 
time jiassed from the sovereignty claimed by 
Spain to that of France. In 1684 Louis Fran- 
quelin published a map of Louisiana showing 
this country up to the Great Lakes, giving 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



for the iirst time the present names to the 
Mississqipi and Missouri rivers. 

Settlements were made in this territory on 
the gulf coast commencing with D'Iberville in 
1699 and about 1717 France granted the trade 
of the Mississippi valley to the Western Com- 
pany for twenty-five years, and Bienvilles, a 
younger brother of D'Iberville, founded New 
Orleans. This company was the occasion of 
the famous "Mississippi Bubble" which John 
Law, the Englishman turned French financier, 
inflated for the supposed enrichment of the 
kingdom. So at that early day the great west 
was the occasion of a greater financial boom 
than has ever been in these late years of its 
numerous, inflated and rapidly developed towns. 

As early as 1705 the French had explored 
the Missouri as far as the Kansas river, and 
built a fort at the mouth of the Osage. 

After the war between France and England 
in which the English captured Canada and 
under the treaty between France and England 
in 1763, all the country east of the Mississippi 
theretofore owned by France, except the part 
east of Louisiana east of the river on the gulf 
coast, became the property of England, and 
at the same date, France, fearing it would lose 
the rest of its American territory, by secret 
treaty ceded to Spain all the rest of its terri- 
tory of Loiiisiana, including what is now Iowa. 

So we again became subject to the sover- 
eignty of Spain. This treaty being secret did 
not become known publicly for a long time, 
and after England in 1763 secured all east of 
the Mississippi, many French, estimated at 
the number of five thousand, refxised to become 
English subjects, and crossed west of the Mis- 
sissippi. 

And in 1764 Pierre Laclede, one of these 
Frenchmen, laid out the city of St. Louis, not 
knowing that the country west of the river had 
passed to Spain. 

At the close of the devolution the United 
States succeeded to the former territory of 
Great Britain, and England ceded to the Unit- 
ed States all its territorv east of the Missis- 



sippi, with all its right of navigation of that 
river to its mouth, derived by treaties with 
France and Spain, but the latter refused ta 
recognize this right of free navigation. Al- 
though Spain had acquired sovereignty of the 
country, the French, constituting the chief part 
of the iJojjulation, wei-e almost in rebellinn, but 
were finally subdued. 

The American settlements east of the Mis- 
sissippi were increasing faster than the French 
and Spanish ones west of it, and the authorities 
at ]^ew Orleans were fearful that these settlers 
would resort to force to compel free navigation, 
and offered special privileges to a few influen- 
tial American traders and public men, and 
tried to induce them to secede from the distant 
Atlantic colonies and make part of a new em- 
pire in the Mississippi valley, known as the 
Aaron Burr and Gen. Wilkinson conspiracy. 

It is claimed that by treaty of October 20, 
179.5, Spain granted to the United States free 
navigation to the mouth of the Great Eiver, 
but October 1, 1801, by treaty between France 
and Spain, this same Louisiana country passed 
again to the sovereignty of France and our 
country here came again under the jurisdiction 
of France, making twice each our soil has been 
subject to Spanish and French rule. But the 
right of ^Vmerican citizens to freely navigate to 
the mouth of the river was not conceded in 
practice by France and was a source of great 
irritation in the west, and President Jefferson 
thought it a good time to negotiate for this 
rigjit, and for a site for an American city at 
the mouth of the great river, and sent commis- 
sioners to France to negotiate the purchase of 
this right. 

England had established her preponderance 
of power in naval warfare, and the great Na- 
poleon, fearful he would lose to England these 
colonies he had so recently taken from Spain, 
saw an opportunity to raise some money by a 
sale to the United States, and put in the hands 
of this new republic a territory which then 
could not possibly fall to England. 

So for fifteen million dollars France sold 



75-i 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



Louisiana to the United States April 30, 1803, 
and this region then, for the first time, be- 
came subject to the United States, or an Eng- 
lish speaking people. 

President JetiFerson for many years had been 
anxious to investigate this western territory 
and had before this purchase obtained from 
France permission to send a scientific explor- 
ing expedition across the continent, and the 
Lewis &■ Clark journey had been planned and 
the men had been preparing for it as a partly 
scientific exploration before we had any knowl- 
edge or expectatitm of acquiring the country, 
but the real object was to find out what kind 
of a region it was. 

So when knowledge of the Louisiana pur- 
chase reached the United States in June, 1803, 
the plans for the expedition were somewhat en- 
larged, and the leaders and men were sent 
forward that year to St. Louis to get ready for 
a start up the ilissouri in the spring, and here 
the leaders found that, so slowly had news trav- 
eled, that the Spaniards had not yet turned 
over the government to the French, and the 
latter had not even heard of the sale to the 
United States. 

It is not our purpose to follow the Lewis & 
Clark expedition, except as we may now speak 
of it as the first authentic record we have of 
white persons standing upon the soil of Wood- 
bury county. 

In August 20, ISOl, they stopped at Floyd's 
Bluff to bury the remains of Sergeant Charles 
Floyd upon its siimmit. So that within the 
limits of this county is found, in the bones of 
Sergeant Floyd, ]irobably the first known re- 
corded occupation of Iowa soil by the United 
States or its citizens after the acquisition of 
the country from France, and the monument 
tliere erected well commemorates a great na- 
tional, state and county historical event. 

On ^larch 2fi, 1804, an act of Congress was 
passed under which on the following October 
1st, this new territory was divided, and that 
part of it lying south of the ■T."d parallel, the 



23resent north line of the state of Louisiana, 
was made the territory of Orleans, and the 
remaining portion of it made the District of 
Louisiana and placed under the authority of 
the Territory of Indiana until July 4, 1805, 
when this part was organized with a territorial 
government of its own. 

Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis & (^'lark 
expedition, was for a long time governor of 
this territory of Louisiana with its capital at 
St. Louis. 

In 1812, what had been since 1804 the terri- 
tory of Orleans, was made the state of Louisi- 
ana, and the name of the I'est of it, the north- 
ern part, was changed to the territory of !Mis- 
souri. 

On the 14th of July, 1814, that part of this 
new territory now included in the state of Ar- 
kansas and Avest of it, was created as Arkansas 
Territory, the part north of this remaining as 
before, named ilissouri Territory. 

March 20, 1820, an act of congress passed 
creating the State of Missouri with its present 
boundaries. This was done only after a long 
struggle in trying to have incorporated in the 
act of admission, a prohibition against slavery, 
which, however, failed. Missouri, by electing 
its officers, perfected its state organization 
August 12, 1821. 

Congress, in organizing the state of Missouri 
made no provision for the government of the 
rest of the old Missouri Territory north and 
west that was left of the original Louisiana pur- 
chase. It established no civil government for 
it, probably for the reason that it contained no 
considerable white settlement, and the atten- 
tion of the national government thereafter was 
chiefly devoted toward keeping the Indians in 
order, and making treaties with them ; so for 
many years our region was without territorial 
government, and subject only to military rule. 

People took law and justice in their own 
hands where necessary. In some instances the 
settlers appealed to the civil government of 
'Missouri, and to the territory of "Michigan, but 



PAST AXD PKESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



755 



their officials disclaimed any jurisdiction over 
this unattached country. 

Finally, June 28, 1834, this territory north 
of Missouri and west of the Mississippi river 
was by act of congress made part of the territory 
of Michigan ; so for the first time this region 
became united in local government with the 
territory east of the Mississippi river, part 
of the original United States. 

July 4, 18o4, the territory of Wisconsin was 
created by act of congress, which included the 
present states of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, 
and so much of North and South Dakota as lie 
east and north of the Missouri river, except 
a small tract in the northwest corner of North 
Dakota, west of the White Earth river, and 
at this time we were first separated in terri- 
torial government from the vast regions west 
of the Missouri river. 

June 12, 1838, congress passed an act creat- 
ing the territory of Iowa to take effect July 4tli 
following. This new territory embraced all 
the region formerly in the territory of Wiscon- 
sin, except what is now the state of Wisconsin. 

The question of slavery incidentally figured 
in the creation of Iowa Territory as it had in 
that of Wisconsin, only free white male citi- 
zens of the United States could vote at the 
first election, but after that the qualification of 
electors was left to the legislatiire. 

The first territorial legislature assembled at 
Burlington, Iowa, in November, 1839. 

The people of Iowa after the Territorial or- 
ganization were not unanimous in their desire 
to become a state, nor on the question of what 
should bo its boundaries. 

An act of Congress, aj^proved March 30, 
1845, authorized the creation of the State of 
Iowa, with boundaries, on the south the Siate 
of ilissouri, on the east the Mississippi river, 
on the north St. Peters river, Minnesota, and 
on the west a meridian nm 17 degrees and 3 
minutes west of Washington, D. C, or about 
forty miles west of the City of Des Moines. 
This was voted on bv the electors of Iowa in 



April, 1845, and rejected. So Western Iowa 
might have been part of some other state. 

The territorial legislature of Iowa, over the 
Governor's veto, June 10, 1845, ordered a con- 
stitutional convention to create a state consti- 
tution upon a vote by people, and if adopted, 
submitted to Congress, but such act not to be 
deemed an acceptance of the boundaries as 
fixed by the last act of Congress for admission, 
but whatever conditions were imposed by Con- 
gress must thereafter be ratified by the people. 

By a joint resolution adopted by the legisla- 
ture of Iowa Territory, Jvme 10, 1845, the 
delegate in Congress was instructed to insist 
unconditionally on these convention boundaries, 
and in no case to accept anything short of St. 
Peters river on the north, and the Missouri 
river on the west as boundaries of the future 
State of Iowa. 

So it seems that the people in Eastern Iowa 
were insisting that the new state should extend 
west to the Missouri river, and much further 
north than was finally adopted. 

Congress passed another act Augiist 4, 1846, 
fixing the present boundaries of Iowa. After 
a constitutional convention it was ratified by 
a vote of the people by a close majority of 421 
votes in a total of 18,528, and Iowa was ad- 
mitted as a state by act of Congress December 
28, 184G. 

The capital early in territorial days had 
been located at Iowa City, a to^vn created for 
the purpose of being the State Capital. 

Northwestern Iowa was regarded as Sioux 
Indian country, under the jurisdiction of the 
United States, and it is not mentioned in early 
territorial legislation. January 29, 1844, the 
legislature memorialized Congress to purchase 
all lands of the Pottawattamie Indians east of 
the Missouri river and to remove the Missouri, 
Sac, Fox and Iowa tribes of Indians from the 
country east of the Missouri river and south of 
the coimtry occiipied by the Sioux Indians, 
and north of the State of l\rissouri, thus recog- 



J'ASr AXl) PHE8EXT OF WOUDBLKY COUNTY 



niziiig this part of tlic state as occupied by the 
Sioux Indians. 

New counties had been created from time to 
time in the southern and eastern part of the 
state, and these, vmtil organized, had been at- 
tached for government purposes to adjoining 
counties, and in some legislative acts words 
had been used giving coixnties jusrisdiction over 
the territory north and west of such newly 
created counties, but at that time all the west 
part of the state was considered Indian coun- 
try and it can not be said we were subject to the 
jurisdiction of any of these counties before our 
own was organized. 

After the United States bad supposedly di- 
vested the Indians of all claims to western 
Iowa, the state legislature passed an act Jan- 
uary 15, 1851, creating forty-nine new counties 
out of what was before the unorganized terri- 
tory of which wc were part, being substan- 
tially half the state, such new counties includ- 
Ui'j: and being all those west of the counties of 
Howard, Chickasaw, Bremer, Grundy, Greene, 
Guthrie, Adair and Adams, giving them mostly 
the same boundaries and names as now. This 
county was in that act named WaKkaw. This 
act merely divided the territory into counties, 
but did not provide any county organization 
at that time, except for a few of these counties. 

Although Pottawattamie county was then 
created, yet before that by an act passed Feb- 
ruary 24, 1847, it was provided "That the 
country embraced within the limits of what is 
called the Pottawattamie purchase on the 
waters of the ^Missouri river be and the same 
mav be temporarily organized into a county 
by the name of Pottawattamie at any time in 
the opinion of the Judge of the Fourth Judicial 
District the public good may require it." And 
under this act some of this territory in south- 
western Iowa hail a co\inty organization, and 
at once started on a new career. 

By an act of February 4, 1851, a new Sixth 
Judicial District was created including a strip 
three or four counties wide across the west end 



of the state, whicli was the first state act that 
gave any kind of governmental or judicial au- 
tliority over our county. 

The only town in western Iowa was Kanes- 
ville, which name was in 1853 changed to Coun- 
cil Bluffs, after the name used for a fort and 
trading post above on the Nebraska side of the 
river. 

We will continue the legislative history of 
this county for a few years before referring to 
its actual settlement. 

At the next session of the Iowa legislature, 
which convened December 6, 1853, acts and 
resolutions were passed, indicating some life 
in this county; January 1, 1853, an act was 
passed appointing Chas. Wolcott of Mills 
cotmty, Thomas L. Griffith (Griffey) of Pot- 
tawattamie county, and Ira Perdue of Harri- 
son county commissioners to locate the seat of 
justice of Wahkaw county, who were to meet 
on the 2nd day of Jul}', 1853, or within thirty 
days thereafter, and locate the county seat near 
the center of the county and make their report 
to the organizing sheriff', describing the tract on 
which it was located and the expenses to be paid 
out of the proceeds of the sale of to'mi lots of 
the new county seat, and that the counties this 
and others provided for in the same act should 
be deemed organized as from the first Monday 
in March, 1853. That the counties of Ida, 
Sac, Buena Vista, Cherokee, Plymouth, Sioux, 
O'Brien, Clay, Dickinson, Osceola and Bun- 
comb (Lyon) should be attaclied to Wahkaw 
for revenue, election and judicial purposes. 

That an election sjiould be lu'ld at Sargcants 
Bluffs and as many otlier places as the organ- 
izing sheriff might designate in the notice of 
election. And that Thomas L. Griffith (Grif- 
fey) should be organizing sheriff, and that he 
should give ten days' notice of the election by 
posting notices in each of the civil townships, 
and that he should grant certificates of elec- 
tion, administer oaths of oflice, and discharge 
all duties of countv clerk, and the officers 



PAST AND PKESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



757 



elected should hold till the next election fixed 
by law for electing such ofScers. 

And that the county seat of Wahkaw county 
should be called Sargeants Bluffs. 

This county with many others was first in 
the same representative district with Potta- 
wattamie county, it already being in the same 
judicial district, but later in the same session 
a new representative district was created in 
which this county was located. 

January 12, 1853, the name of the coimty by 
act of the legislatiire was changed to Wood- 
bury, after Hon. Levi Woodbury, of New 
Hampshire, and by an act approved January 
22, 1853, Woodbury county was put in the 
new Seventh Judicial District with Pottawat- 
tomie county, and court ordered to be held in 
this county on the third Monday of July, such 
new judge of the Seventh District to be elected 
on the first Monday of April, 1S53. 

On January 5, 1853, the legislature memo- 
rialized Congress, asking a land grant in aid 
of a railroad from ]\IcGregor Landing on the 
Mississippi river to the Missouri river near the 
mouth of the Big Sioux river; other grants 
were asked for from Dubuque to Kanesville 
and from Davenj^ort and Muscatine to Coun- 
cil Bluffs, using the new name just given. 

We might here review some more of the 
state legislation in relation to the first few 
years of Woodbury county, although it takes 
it past the first settlement and organization of 
the county. 

In those years charters for state roads were 
matters of special acts of the legislature, and 
these acts give us some idea of the lines of 
travel. January 25, 1855, an act was passed 
to establish a state road from Panora in Guth- 
rie county, through Moffits Grove to Coplens 
Grove, Carroll county, and Mason's Grove in 
Crawford county to Sargeant's Bluffs in Wood- 
bury coimty. Evidently groves of timber were 
land marks of travel, and gave names to early 
towns. About the same time a joint resolu- 
tion was passed asking Congress to establish a 



mail route on horse back once a week over this 
route. 

January 24, 1855, an act was passed ap- 
pointing Thomas S. Griffin (Thomas L. Grif- 
fey) and two others to establish a state road 
commencing at Cedar Falls, through Ft. Dodge 
to near the mouth of the Big Sioux river in 
Woodbury coxmty, and on the same day in an 
act establishing numerous roads Isaac Ashton 
and J. M. Wagoner of Monona coimty, and 
Marshall Townsley of Woodbury county were 
appointed commissioners to locate a state road 
from Sargeants Bluffs through Ashton, Mo- 
nona county, to the most suitable point on the 
Little Sioux river in Harrison county, and in 
the same act Marshal Townsley and two others 
were appointed commissioners to locate a state 
road from Homer, in Webster county, via Ida 
Grove and Lizzard Point, to Sargeants Bluffs 
in Woodbury county. 

Twenty-one counties in western and north- 
western Iowa were made the Twelfth Sen- 
atorial District, and twenty of these same coun- 
ties, leaving out Pottawattamie, were made the 
Sixteenth Representative District, and as much 
or more territory constituted the Seventh Ju- 
dicial District. 

Iowa City was still the capital of the state, 
though January 25, 1855, a commission was 
appointed to relocate the state capital within 
two miles of the junction of the Des Moines 
and Raccoon rivers in Polk county. Up to 
this time, January and February, 1855, no 
mention in the legislative records is made of 
Sioux City, and the Sargeants Bluffs spoken of 
must have been the Town of Wm. Thompson, 
near Floyd's grave, as that town had been so 
named in locating the county seat two years 
before. 

It is probable that the parties with political 
power behind them, who were contemplating 
locating a town in the vicinity of where Sioux 
City now is, were interested in legislation fa- 
vorable to this locality, as is indicated by the 



758 



PAST AXD PKESEXT OF WOODBT'RY COFXTY 



memorial for a laixl o-raiit and of a railroad 
before mentioned. 

January 19, 1855, the legislature memorial- 
ized Congress "Stating that a military garrison 
was much needed at the mouth of the Big Sioux 
river in Iowa. That the ground had recently 
been purchased from the Indians, and since 
then two hostile tribes b}' treaty among them- 
selves had partitioned out the country among 
themselves into separate hunting grounds for 
each tribe, and the same is occupied each fall 
by bands of the different tribes and they have 
since engaged in war with each other, whereby 
said tract has become the theater of several 
sanguinary and bloody battles to the great an- 
noyance and discomfort of the few settlers who 
have pioneered the way for settlement and civ- 
ilization. 

"That the mouth of the Big Sioux is con- 
tiguous to a large scope of country owned by 
the Sioux, Omahas, Ottoes and other tribes, 
and from said Indian country marauding bands 
will come into these settlements, and that such 
garrison would be on the route to Ft. Laramie 
and trading posts on the Missouri and Yellow- 
stone rivers and accessible by steamboat, and 
would be a suitable post for supplies, and ask- 
ing that a garrison be established at the mouth 
of the Big Sioux River." 

This county was at the extreme limit of 
white settlement, and the danger from the In- 
dians was not a mere idle fear. At the next 
session of the legislature, which convened at 
Iowa City December 1, 1857, in legislative 
records Sioux City first had its name appear. 
By an act approved January 16, 1857, Sioux 
City was incorporated, with its limits fixed as 
the south halves of sections 20 and 21 and all 
of sections 28-20 and 33, township 89, range 
47, or what would now be bounded on the west 
to include Davis" addititm and Smith's Villa 
on the north 21st street, and on the east by the 
line of Clarl: street just east of the viaduct. 

At the same sessi<ni Cdinmissioners were ap- 



pointed to locate state roads to various points 
leading into Woodbury county. 

W. W. Culver, David M. Mills and Wm. 
Tripp were commissioners to locate a road from 
Sioux City up the Big Sioux valley to the 
mouth of Rock river in Sioux county ; this was 
actually surveyed and established and is sub- 
stantially the road yet traveled. 

A road from Council Bluifs up the valley to 
Sioux City was established and Geo. W. Chapel 
(probably Frank Chapel meant) was one of 
the commissioners to locate it. Another road 
was authorized from Kills Mill on Pigeon 
creek in Pottawattamie county, through Mag- 
nolia, Harrison county, Prei^aration and Belvi- 
dere in Monona county, and Southland (Smith- 
laud), in Woodbury county. Orrin Smith of 
Woodbury and Giij Barnum, one of the chief 
Mormons at Preparation, were commissioners. 

Having traced the jjolitical sovereignty over 
the territory embraced within the limits of 
Woodbury county from its discovery down to 
the time when the county was organized, it 
will lie iif interest to give what history we can 
(if the Indians who inhabited the cotintry, be- 
fore we commence the recital of the actual set- 
tlement and growth of the county. 

Prior to late in the I8th or early in the 19th 
centttry all Iowa was held by the Siouau or 
Dakota Indians. The Sacs and Foxes had not 
permanently crossed the Mississippi river. 
Early in the 19th centiary the Sacs and Foxes 
were foiuid west of the Mississippi river in 
southeastern Iowa. 

The Iowa or loway tribe were settled in 
central Iowa along the Des Moines river, and 
were there as early as 1653, when Marqxiette 
anil Juliet visited the upper Mississippi val- 
ley ; they were of Siouan stock. The first gov- 
ernment treaty with the Indians relating to 
Iiiwa snil was made August 19, 1825. It re- 
cited recent wars between the confederate tribes 
of Sacs aiul Foxes, and the Sioux, and also 
between the loways and the Sioux, and fixed 
tlie boundary between the country of Sacs, 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBFUY C'OrXTY 



759 



Foxes aiul Ii_wnys and that of the Sioux to 
begin at the moiitli of the upper Iowa river 
near the northeast corner of the state of Iowa 
and running southwest to the second or upper 
fork of the Des Moines river, thence in 
a direct line to the lower fork of the 
(.'alnniet (^ Sioux) river, and down that 
river to its juncture with the Missouri river. 
The Calumet river referred to was the 
Big Sioux river, its Iiulian name was Tchan- 
kas-an-data. The upper fork of the Des iloines 
river is near Humboldt, in Humboldt county, 
and the lower fork of the Calumet or Big Sioux 
river must have been the Rock river in Sioux 
coiuitv. The Sioux were not a jiartv to this 
treaty. 

Thus Woodbury county was in the territory 
of the loways, thoiigh near this line, but the 
line does not seem to have been kept. A new 
treaty made July 15, 1830, confirmed February 
■i, 1831. by which a strip twenty miles wide 
each side of this line from the Des Moines to 
the Mississippi was ceded as neutral ground, 
and by the same treaty this part of western 
Iowa, south of the line tixed in the treaty of 
1825, was ceded to the United States, and a 
portion of the Sioux were parties to this treaty. 

Although western Iowa was by these treaties 
ceded to the United States no particular use 
was made of it, and it did not materially 
change its condition, as it was reserved by the 
United States to settle these or other Indians 
upon. 

It had been actually occupied as Sioux ter- 
ritory and they continued to hunt over it, as 
it interfered with no one. October 19, 1838, 
the loways ceded all claims to the country be- 
tween the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. 

The word "Sioux" is derived from the last 
syllable of the name given them by the Algon- 
quins, Xa-do-was-Sioux, "Snake like ones" or 
"Enemies" ; their own name was Dakotah or 
Loakotah, which means "leagued," which 
league did not incliule the loways. The Sioux 
was a name given by the whites and was not 
used bv the Tmlians. 



The Yanliton tribe had not signed the trea- 
ties of 1825 and 1836, and were not bound 
by rhe surrender of western Iowa, and October 
21, Us.'iT, the Yanktons ceded all claims to 
lands in what is now western Iowa. 

But the go\-ernment was not sure of its right, 
and the Indians paying no attention to the 
treaty cession had undisputed possession of 
northwestern Iowa. Commencing in 1851 and 
ending September IS, 1852, by treaty, the 
Sioux Indians' claim to Iowa was extinguished. 
In lSr)4 the southern Sioux tribes of the Mis- 
souris, Ottoes and Ouiahas again ceded all 
clainis to lands east of the Missouri, though 
they had not for years made any special claim 
to it, except perhaps the Omahas across the 
river from us used it to some extent, but the 
tribes of Sioux east and north of the Missouri 
claimed and occupied this region. 

In 1840 and 1850 the surveyor general of 
Iowa reported that about one-eighth of the state 
in northwestern Iowa was still possessed and 
occupied by the Sioiux, and that the surveys 
of the northern boundary of the state and other 
surveys needed military protection. Probably 
from long before the Lewis and Clark expedi- 
tion the Indians did not make this a perma- 
nent abode, but used it as a hunting ground. 

Although the Indians had by treaty relin- 
qiiished all rights to this part of Iowa, indi- 
vidual Indians were loth to abandon their old 
Imnting ground, and their occasional presence 
was a source of apprehension to the few early 
settlers. 

Iowa's Governor, J. W. Grimes, wrote to 
Hon. A. C. Dodge, our United States Senator, 
and other members, January 3, 1855, saying 
in substance "That the citizens of Woodbury, 
Monona and Harrison counties are also im- 
portunate in their demands for relief against 
the Omahas and Ottoes, all or most of whom 
I am informed are now west of the Missouri 
river. The chief trouble apprehended by the 
^Ussouri river citizens is from a band of the 
Sioux in the vicinity of Sargeants Bluffs. 
These Indians jiretend they have never parted 



760 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OP WOODBrPY COUNTY 



with their title to several of the northwestern 
counties of otir state and avow their intention 
to plant corn within the state the coming 
spring. I am assured that their presence is 
hazardous to their own and to the lives of our 
citizens." 

As to visits of white men to our county 
and adjacent regions along the Missouri river 
before about the time of its permanent settle- 
ment there is very little record preserved. Be- 
fore the time of the Lewis and Clark expedi- 
tion in 1804, some trappers and Indian traders 
had come up the Missouri and explored the 
tributary streams, and it will be proper here 
to cite from the published accoimt of this ex- 
pedition some of the references to previous ex- 
ploration by white men. 

The Missouri ^•allev was to considerable ex- 
tent settled and cultivated before 1804 for a 
short distance above St. Louis. This expedi- 
tion on June met three hunters from the 
Sioux ri\-er who had been out twelve months 
and collected $900 worth of peltries and furs, 
and on June 12 they met coming dovm the 
Missouri two rafts, one with furs and the other 
with buffalo tallow from the Sioux l^ation, 
on their way to St. Louis, and out of one 
of these rafts they hired a Mr. Durion who 
had lived with that nation more than twenty 
years, and was high in their confidence. 

On July 2, just above the mouth of the Kan- 
sas river they saw an old abandoned French 
fort with remains of chimneys and outline of 
fortification, and they coiild get no account of 
when the fort had been occupied. 

On July !) they came to some French cabins 
where some of the memliers had camped the 
year before. 

And July !I4, passed a small factory (trad- 
ing post) where a Frenchman from St. Louis 
traded two years before. On arriving at the 
mouth of the Platte river they speak of one 
of their Frenchmen having spent two years 
upon it and giving some description of it. And 
in giving a doscriiirion of some of the Imlian 



tribes west of the river say that Bourgemont 
visited the Indians on the Kansas river in 1724. 

And July 31 they held a conference with 
the Indians at what they named Council Bluffs, 
and there was a Frenchman living with them, 
and on the iN^ebraska side, above where Omaha 
is, was a trading house where one of the party 
passed two years trading with the ilahas 
(Omahas). 

On August 8 they came to a river called by 
the Indians "Eaneahwadepon," or Stone river, 
and by the French "Petite Riviere des Sioux," 
or Little Sioux, and say that their Mr. Durion, 
who had been to the source of it and knows the 
adjoining country, says that it rises within about 
nine miles of the Des Moines river, and within 
fifteen leagues of that river it jiasses through 
a large lake nearly sixty miles in circiimference, 
and divided into two parts by rocks which ap- 
proach each other very closely, and known by 
the name of Lac d'Esprit, and is within four 
days march of the Mahas. So, though the ac- 
count is somewhat exaggerated, Mr. Durion 
had probably passed up the Little Sioux 
through our country, the first known traveler 
there. 

On August 13, fourteeen miles below the 
mouth of Omaha creek, opposite our coimty, 
they came to a spot where a ^h\ ^Sfackey had 
a trading establishment in 1795 and 170fi which 
he called Ft. Charles. 

On August 20, 1804, after burying Sergeant 
Chas. Floyd, marking his grave with a cedar 
post, they camped at the mouth of the Floyd, 
which they then named, and the next day 
passed the mouth of Perry creek and came to 
the Big Sioux river, with which their Mr. 
Durion was well acquainted, and describes it 
and its source, and speaks of the Falls and the 
Split Kock river, and of the pipestone q^iarries 
as sacred neutral ground. 

In their journey on u]i the ^lissouri to where 
fhcy winfored at the Mandan villages and a 
sliort distance altovc they frequently met white 
men and trading posts, some substaiuially Imilt 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



761 



with stockades, and sjjeak of what these French- 
men said was the condition twenty years be- 
fore. One Frenchman they met had just come 
down the Cheyenne from the Black Mountains 
(Hills). 

When they start on their journey in the 
spring of 1805 on up the river, when at the 
mouth of the Little Missouri river below the 
Yellowstone, they speak of it as the limit 
beyond which white men have never before 
gone, though the Yellowstone itself was well 
knowTi from the reports of the Indians. 

It is noticeable that up to this point in their 
journey all the principal streams had already 
been named, and Lewis and Clark refer to 
them by these names, mostly of course with 
French spelling of Indian names, though 
others original French, and Lewis and Clark 
only named a few smaller ones, as the Floyd, 
but above the Little Missouri, they named for 
themselves all streams. 

The large keel boat fifty-five feet long, which 
was the great conveyance of the expedition, was 
undoubtedly the first keel bottom boat ever 
taken up the river as far as Woodbuiy coimty, 
as farther up the Indians are spoken of as 
never having seen one before, and it is most 
likely there was very little navigation going 
up the river; the trappers and hunters mostly 
going up on foot or with horses, and coming 
down with the furs and tallow on flat boats 
constnicted at the starting points. 

These traders and trappers passing up and 
down the river no doubt had visited our country 
many times and many years before the United 
States acquired the counlry from France, and 
this physically would seem to have been a fa- 
vorable location for a trading post, but no signs 
of such a structure are found ; probably it was 
too near the border line between the Sioux and 
other tribes to be a safe and profitable place 
for one. 

After the burial of Sergeant Floyd on the 
bluff near Sioux City his grave became a land- 
mark, and was spoken of liy travelers. 



May 11, 1811, the Overland Astorian ex- 
pedition under W. P. Hunt passed on its way 
up the river. Mr. Bradbury and Thomas ISTut- 
tall, botanists, were in the party, and the same 
year, May 19, 1811, Henry W. Brackenridge 
and Manuel Lisa, the fur trader, going up in 
a keel boat, stopped at Floyd's grave, and Mr. 
Brackenridge noted the fact in his journal that 
they camped near, and speaks of the grave as 
being marked by a cross. 

The first steamer to reach St. Louis from 
below was August 2, 181Y. 

In 1819 the steamer Western Engineer came 
up the Missouri river to Council Bluffs, Ne- 
braska, just above Omaha. 

In 1832 George Catlin, the great Indian 
painter and writer, came up the river in a 
steamer and passed this county, and came down 
in a canoe and made a sketch of Floyd's Bluff 
published in his book, and writes an extended 
account of the same. The cut of the bluff is 
easily recognized. His large sized painting of 
the scene no doubt is owned by some one to 
,vhom a portion of Catlin's pictures were soid. 

John ]Sr. Nicollet, scientist, discoverer of the 
source of the Mississippi, ascended the Mis- 
souri river in 1839, and some time in May 
they stopped at the foot of Floyd's bluff, and 
he writes that his men replaced the signal at 
the grave blown down by the winds. The orig- 
inal cedar post at the grave was probably re- 
placed by one or more posts before the re- 
burial in 1857, as Mr. A. M. Holman has a 
piece of the part of the post then remaining, 
and it is of oak. 

Nicollet marked Floyd's grave and river on 
the map that he made, and he speaks of his 
steamer being compelled to take shelter from 
a storm in the Tchan-kas-an-data or Sioux river. 

Audobon, IMay 13, 1843, came up the Mis- 
souri river on a steamer, and on that evening 
was at the burial ground below where Floyd 
was buried, and entered the mouth of the Big 
Sioux river, and saw Indian canoe frames on 
bent sticks over which buffalo hides were 



r62 



PAST AND PEESEXT OE WOODHCIJY COUNTY 



stretched; evidently the birch bark canoe was 
not used here, as there were no birch trees in 
this region. 

Probably the first steamboat to pass Wood- 
bury county up the Missouri river was the 
Yellowstone, bxiilt expressly for navigation on 
the Tijiijor vlvc'v to save the long delay occa- 
sioned by the use of the keel and flat boats. 

This boat left St. Louis in the sjiring of 
1831 loaded with goods; it was a season of low 
water and passed our county safely, but at 
the mouth of the Niobrara encountered sand 
bars, and sent up to Fort Tecumseh (Pierre) 
for boats to take part of the freight, after 
which it got as far uj) as this trading fort, 
and then returned to St. Loiiis. The next year, 
1832, this steamer, the Yellowstone, made a 
successful trip to the upper river, having on 
board this trip the painter Catlin. 

This success in navigation was the opening 
of a new era in the develoj)ment of our part 
of the northwest, and attracted much atten- 
tion all over the United States; and thereafter 
visitors were more frequent, though it was a 
long time before this was regarded as a pos- 
sible country for settlers, the fur trade was 
what was chiefly thought of. The American 
Fur Company thereafter sent up one or more 
boats every year. 

The migration of the Mormons from Xauvoo, 
Illinois, through Iowa, crossing the Missouri at 
Kanesvillc, now Council Bluffs, on the way 
to their final settlement at Salt Lake City, was 
the first opening of western Iowa to white set- 
tlement, and it developed an immense steam- 
boat traffic for freight iip the river from below 
as far as Council Bluffs and from there by 
wagon train to Salt Lake. Tlie later California 
gold discovery made overland travel a great 
feature and the Mormon overland trail from 
Council Bluffs was much used and our locality 
was so near that it began to be known. 

In 1847 Captain Jos. LaBerge took his wife 
with him in the steamer ^lartlia on her trip 
up the river and so far as known she was the 



first white woman that went above Council 
Bluff's, and her advent among the Indians 
caused great excitement. The squaws flocked 
to see her. We have no record that she stopped 
within the limits of our county. 

After Iowa became a state and there was a 
prosjiect that the title or claim of the Indians 
would be extinguished and the land surveyed 
and the peoi^le who might come here be rea- 
sonably safe from Indians, this region began 
to attract attention from various sources. 

The Mormons and other travelers and set- 
tlers about Kanesville could explore it most 
readily. Tlie ]H'ople in the near and far east 
who had the western fever were looking at 
the west for a home. And still another class 
was the French trapper and trader. These men 
had been up and do^vn the ^lissoiiri by boat 
and on foot and knew the country well. Many 
of them had married squaws, and began to 
think of settling in Iowa, where they could 
own land, which they could not do west of 
the Missouri and Sioux rivers, which was all 
Indian country and they were never really safe 
there. 

Charles Larpcnteur, an old Indian trader who 
settled near the mouth of the Little Sioux river 
with his sqi;aw wife in 1851, speaks in his 
journal of spending the summer of 1850 at Ver- 
million trading post in charge for the Fur 
Company and narrates, "That it was no place 
to settle, as too exposed to hostile Indians who 
robbed me of all my corn as well as that of 
the half-breeds who were settled near the post ; 
they were obliged to abandon their places and 
most of them went to settle at Sargeants 
Bluffs." 

Causes like this led no doubt to the French 
settlements in our county at places from up 
the Big Sioux river down to below the present 
town of Sargeant Bhiffs. 

In the spring of 1851, Larpcnteur came down 
the Missouri from Vermillion in a IMackinaw, 
then on its way to St. Loiiis, and got off at 
Sargeant Bluffs, and had to remain there 



PAST AXD PKESEXT OF WOODBUl^Y COUXTY 



(63 



fifteen days, as the bottom lands from there to 
the Little Sioux were flooded and impassable 
and little dry land was to be seen. There were 
settlers enough at Sargeant BlufEs, so he bought 
from them four ponies and two French carts. 
At that time there were no settlements between 
Sargeant Bluffs and Little Sioux, a distance of 
about fifty miles. 

Larpenteur had with him his wife and chil- 
dren, and the hardships of that journey were 
great ; the carts mired and were abandoned, 
and horse travailles poles were substituted; 
before he finished the journey had to go on 
with part only and came back for the rest; 
fortunately meeting Theophile Bruguier with 
a wagon and a four-ox team on his way from 
his place at the mouth of the Big Sioux, pre- 
sumably going to Council Bluffs. They were 
old acquaintances in the iip river fur trade, 
and the meeting a fortunate one. 

Larpenteur's account of Bruguier's response 
to his plea for aid will refresh the recollection 
of those who have heard the loud hearty soiind 
of his voice. He said, ''Hello, Larpenteur, 
what in the devil are you doing here ? You're 
in a pretty fix ain't you ? Well, you put some 
of your stuff in my wagon ; bet you I see you 
through." 

There had been for many years a track or 
trail from where Council Bluffs now is, up the 
ilissouri valley about where the railroad track 
now runs, to the present Sargeant Bluffs, and 
to Floyd's grave and do\%Ti the ravine, north 
of the grave to the river bank and crossing the 
Floyd above its mouth and over Perry creek, 
above where the West Seventh street bridge 
now is, between Ninth and Tenth streets, and 
west near where the Riverside street car line 
runs, till it starts up the hill to the cut from 
which point the trail went farther northwest 
till it came into the Sioux valley, crossing that 
stream near where the present bridge is. It 
may have originally been an Indian trail, but 
was followed by the whites in their expeditions. 

The settlement bv the French and half 



breeds in the region about Sioux City and Sar- 
geant Bluffs requires special attention, as it 
was probably the first and the most numerous. 

Many were here before the LTnited States 
surveyed the land, and many of them were 
ready to enter it as soon as it was possible 
after the survey. 

The early entries had to be made at the 
Council Bluffs United States Land Office, as 
one was not established in Sioux City till the 
fall of 1855. 

Theophile Bruguier was probably the earliest 
French settler, and certainly the most promi- 
nent and influential one. He was born in 
Canada, August 31, 1813, his father being of 
French and his mother of English descent. His 
language was French, but he had many of the 
traits of the Englishman. He had received a 
good education and he told his confidential 
friends that the reason of his leaving Canada 
was a disappointment in a love affair, and that 
he treasured the memory of his Canadian sweet- 
heart, and to his death kept sacredly a letter 
she had written to him many years after he 
came to this country. He came up the river 
first in 1835, and continued to trade with the 
Indians for the American Fur Company and 
himself till he settled at the mouth of the Big 
Sioux in 1849, and in fact for many years 
after that. He was a large, powerful man, 
though not tall, with a voice like a trumpet, 
which he never could subdue. He had had 
charge of several trading posts and was a fear- 
less leader and fighter. He married three 
daughters of War Eagle, probably while he was 
trader at Fort Vermillion. It is said it was a 
ciistom among those Indians that if a man took 
for his wife one daughter in the family, he 
was entitled to have all the other girls for wives 
also ; but in this case Bruguier had too many, 
as August Traversie, another early settler, got 
one of these wives away from him, and he gave 
another to his partner, Henry Ayotte. War 
Eagle was an influential chief and no doubt 
Bruguier's alliance with so prominent a family 



PAST AXi) PEESE.XT OF WOODBURY COrXTY 



gave him great prestige with the Indians. As 
Bruguier's family grew he began to think of 
settling down, and he narrated in after years 
how he came to select his home at the month of 
the Big Sioux. 

One night when living up the ^Missouri river 
he was restless and could not sleep, so he went 
up on a bluff and laid down and fell into a 
light slumber and dreamed he saw a locality 
on a stream near a big river with bluffs and 
trees which he had never seen before, but when 
he awakened he had a perfect mental picture 
of the scene, and it so much impressed him that 
he told old War Eagle about his dream and 
the peculiar features of the landscape, and the 
old chief at once recognized the locality from 
the description as the spot next above the mouth 
of the Big Sioux river in the locality aboat 
where the Riverside trolley line crosses the 
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad 
track, where the old Bruguier house still stands. 
At that time the mouth of the Big Sioux was 
much further east than now, nearer Prospec 
Hill, and the Missouri ran south through what 
is Crystal Lake, near South Sioux City. So 
that Bruguier in his steamboat travels up the 
river had not had an opportunity to sec the 
exact spot he dreamed of, or if he had seen had 
forgotten it. He decided to take up his abode 
at this spot and in due time located thcro in 
1849, using for his cultivated ground the clear 
space where the fair ground is located, and h3 
owned later all of what is now Riverside P.nrk. 
For many years Bruguier's place was a sort of 
headquarters for the French and Indians, and 
the latter had their camps about there. 

Som^e further reference to old War Eagle 
will be found later in this sketch in the ac- 
count of the "Angle war," so-called, but we 
will add here that his name in (he Indian lan- 
guage was Hu-yan-e-ka, meaning War Eagle, 
and he was always friendly with the whites 
and had since a young man lived at or neat 
the French trading forts on the Missouri river. 
After his appointment as chief to succed Tit- 



tle Dish (Pte-yu-te-sui), a Yankton Sioux, he 
was recognized by the United States Agent, 
Major Pilcher, which confirmed his authority 
and augmented his influence. At one time after 
1830 he had been employed as a pilot on the 
upper Mississippi, as originally he was a JMin- 
nesota Indian. It was his following of Indians 
that made their headquarters at Bruguier's 
place at Riverside Park after the latter settled 
there ; and the name of the "Council Oak," 
given to that gnarled old tree, is no doubt 
based on the traditions of War Eagle's en- 
campment. War Eagle died in the fall of 
1851 and was buried on the high bluff at the 
mouth of the Sioiix, beside his two daughters, 
wives of Bruguier, and where a nundier of 
other graves of whites and Indians are found. 

Bruguier lived on this farm for about thirty 
years and then moved onto his la'-te fc'in near 
Salix, '-'here he died a wealthy and respected 
farmer. 

We will give here a l)rief account of the 
names and settlement of many of the early 
French do^^^l to a time after the founding of 
Sioux City, as it is dilEcult to tell just what 
year each came; they seemed to have followed 
their fellow countrymen and some were among 
the first to enter land after it was surveyed. 
There is no definite record as to how long they 
liad lived on this land before they got title to 
it. Larpentcur in his journal speaks of a set- 
tlement at Sargeants Bluff in 18.50 and 18.51. 
This name applying to Sargeant Floyd's Bluff, 
where Wm. Thompson then lived. It seems 
certain that some of these Frenchmen who en- 
tered land in 1854 had been living there for 
two or three years. 

August Traversie, who had been on the up- 
per river from about 1832 with the American 
Fur Company, settled in this county in 1850 
or 1851. He was a cousin of Joseph Leonnais, 
who came in 1852, and he says Traversie set- 
tled here a year or two before he did. Tra- 
versie settled on the southeast quarter of sec- 
tion 12, township 88, range 48, about a mile 



PAST AXD PEESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUXTY 



765 



below Floyd's grave, and entered this land July 
24, 1854. His house, a double log one, was 
more commodious than some of the others, and 
was on the line of travel and headquarters for 
French, Indians, and half breeds, and in a 
measure his place was a camping ground for 
the migratory Indians, in some sense hostile 
to War Eagle's camp at the mouth of the Big 
Sioux ; he had stolen away Bruguier's eldest 
wife. Many a dance, frolic and fight took 
place at Traversie's, some of which we shall 
recount later. 

Francis Bcrcicr or Bercia settled just below 
Traversie on the northeast quarter of section 
13. His wife's name was Mary. They were 
married May 24, 1854, by County Judge 
Townley. She may have been a half breed, lier 
father, Francis La Charite, sometimes spelled 
LaSharite, was a very old man, over 80 years 
old, who lived with his son-in-law and was an 
active old fellow, fond of the dance and flowing 
bowl and attended all the frolics. It is pos- 
sible that this Bercier is the one of that name 
spoken of by Captain Joseph La Berge the old 
Missouri river captain in his memoirs, written 
by Captain H. M. Chittenden 

In April, 1834, LaBerge and Bercier with a 
large party were sent in pursuit of some Sioux 
who had stolen a bunch of horses from the 
Pa^\^lees. They overtook the Sioux on the Elk- 
horn river in Nebraska, killed eleven of them 
and recaptured the horses. This same Bercier 
went up the Missouri with Captain Joseph La- 
Berge in 1865, and was killed by the Black- 
feet Indians on the Teton river near Fort Ben- 
ton, Montana. He had left Sioux City long 
before that and like many of the other early 
French had probably gone back to his early 
haunts. 

Stephen Deroie entered the south half of sec- 
tion 13, July 25, 1854, just below Bercicr's. 
This man went by the name of Stephen Devoy, 
and sometimes Stephen DeKoi. He spoke 
English well, but his name, like many of these 
early Fronchmon, who could not road and write. 



was spelled by whatever American who hap- 
l^ened to write it according to sound, and it 
is sometimes hard to identify the names of 
many of these men. Devoie was a son-in-law 
oi LaCharite. His wife's name was Lisette. 
He probably came in 1851 or 1852 ; he sold 
out and went to Rulo, ISTebraska, where he 
died. 

Charles Rulo (Rouleaux) entered the north- 
east quarter of northeast quarter and lots one 
and two in section 24, September 14, 1854. 
This was next south of Devoie's land and 
he had probably had a claim on it for two or 
three years before that. He married Amelia 
Menard, a sister of the wife of Joseph Leon- 
nais. Probably such marriage was according to 
Indian custom 'before or about the time of the 
county organization, before there was any 
county judge or public officer to grant license, 
as there is no record of it, and slie was a single 
woman at the time William Thompson killed the 
TTnited States Indian Agent l^orwood ; as it was 
over attentions to this Amelia Menard at a 
dance at LaCharite's home that the quarrel and 
affray occurred. 

There was a dark complexioned Frenchman 
whose name I can not learn living near the 
north end of Brower lake, below Sargeant 
Bluffs, who had a Blackfoot squaw for a wife. 
They were living there in 1855 and may have 
been there for several years. They had a good 
looking daughter who later married a Ken- 
tuckian named Samuels. Two or three years 
later, at a time when the Sioux and Blackfoot 
Indians were at war, a small party of Sioux 
came down to this Frenchman's house and mur- 
dered his squaw wife merely because she was 
a Blackfoot. They did not offer to harm any- 
one else. 

John Brazo, a colored man with his wife, 
a daughter of Henry Angle, a part blood In- 
dian, was camped in the fall of 1854 near 
Townsley's, under the bluff east of Traversie's. 
John Brazo was a famous character for many 
years in this vicinity and in fact all the way 



r6G 



PAST AND PRKSKXT OF WOODIUUY COUNTY 



up the ^Missouri river. It was his favorite boast 
that he was the tirst white man that ever came 
into the upper Indian country. He was born 
about ITl'S, and when young had gone up the 
Missouri river and was well knoAvn at the 
American Fur Company posts, where he was 
employed. He was of small stature, strong, 
brave and intelligent. He spoke English, 
French, Sioux and other Indian languages. 

Braze was lame, having one heel piartly shot 
away. He told how this occurred. He was at 
St. Louis, lying stretched out in the sun on 
the steamboat landing with a lot of other ne- 
groes, when a steamboat approached and he 
heard some one on the boat speak to another 
man and at once ^Mike Fink, a noted outlaw, 
and desperado, raised his rifle and shot Brazo 
in the heel just for fun. . 

Brazo was an expert with the violin and 
was a favorite on that account. He was at 
Fort Union at the mouth of the Yellowstone in 
1836, and was often employed to flog men at 
tJie flagstaff for misdemeanor. That year a 
Frenchman, Bourbonnais, had a quarrel with 
Kenneth IMcKenzie in charge of the fort, and 
lay in wait outside for several days to get a 
shot at IMclvcnzie. This getting monotonous, 
ifcKenzie sent for Brazo and asked him if he 
had plenty of nerve to shoot Bourbonnais if 
told to, and would he do it. He respon<led 
"Yes, sir, plenty, and I am ready at any time." 

And being ordered to shoot, Brazo took his 
rifle at early daylight and stationed himself at 
one of the bastions of the fort and soon reported 
that he had shot his man, which proved to be 
true, the bullet going through him alxive the 
right breast, but the wound was not mortal. 
He was a good shot and a successful hunter. 
It was told of him that in the smallpox epi- 
demic at Fort Union, the nearby Fort Williams 
was used as a hospital, and many died every 
day and Brazo was the sexton and wheeled out 
the dead on his barrow and dumped them on 
the bushes and one morning he reported he had 



only three, but would have a full load tomor- 
row. 

t^hristmas, 1S3S, at the fort one of the em- 
ployees killed another in a drunken brawl, and 
shortly after the murderer was tried before an 
improvised judge and jury, and convicted and 
sentenced to death, but their authority to exe- 
cute this sentence was doubted, so it was 
changed to thii'ty-nine lashes and Brazo ap- 
pointed to cari-y out the sentence: which he 
performed with such zeal that had he not been 
repeatedly cautioned and made to moderate 
his blows, the original sentence of death might 
have been carried into effect, as the result of 
these lashes with the large ox whip. 

After living several years around Sioux City 
he went back iip the Missouri river and was 
with the American Fur Company and its suc- 
cessor for many years, and in 1S6S was at Fort 
Berthold and was discharged by reason of the 
men he had been working for selling out. He 
was old, feeble and rheumatic. The Indians 
gave him shelter. An army surgeon. Dr. ^lat- 
thews. who had known him heard of his con- 
dition and had him brotight to Fort Stevenson 
a few miles off and provided for him, and one 
morning he was found kneeling l>eside his bed 
dead. He was then alwut seventy years old. 
His wife is still living at one of the Indian 
agencies. 

Henry Angie, a part blood Indian and bis 
half blood wife, and several children came in 
1854, and at first camped near Traversie's, but 
the next year lived east of the Floyd, opposite 
the new Chicago, St. Paul, ilinneapolis and 
Omaha shops, and his claim there was the oc- 
casion of what is knoMni as the Angie war, 
descrilied later. 

Louis Benoist married a Sioux Indian girl 
Agatha, June 4, IS.'ifi. though probably he had 
the marriage ceremony performed then to con- 
firm his previous Indian marriage, as he made 
a deed, his wife joining, to Stephen Deroie, 
the Janxtary before, of part of section 18, 
towniship SS, range 47 : and on June 24. 1856, 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOOni 



i;y corxTV 



7(\7 



deeded laud in the same section to Samuel H. 
Cassady, and it is probable he married his wife 
a few days before that to satisfy his prospective 
buyer, Cassady, as to the legality of the pro- 
posed deed. Benoist had probably beeu one 
of the group of early Frenchmen who lived 
around Floyd's Bluif, some of whom never had 
the money to pay for the land, but sold their 
chums to the Americans. lie had a cabin 
near the river west of Bercier's in ISa-t. Be- 
noist claimed land up the Sioux just south of 
the Woodbury and Plymouth county line. He 
soon moved iip the Sioits just above the mouth 
of the Broken Kettle, where he lived several 
years. He was commonly called Sorel, that 
being the name of the place in Canada where 
he was born. Several of the early French 
came from there, Leonnais and Traversie 
among the number. 

Joseph Lacont had a chiim on the south half 
of the south half of section 34, township 8S), 
range 47, extending from the Missouri river 
east where the south part of the Stock Yards 
are now located, and also including the ground 
of the Armour Packing Plant. He made an 
entry of this land in ISoG and sold out to the 
syndicate of Bedard, Letellier and Lamoreaux, 
who platted that locality as South Sioux City, 
but Lacont's entry was cancelled. He was liv- 
ing there as early as lSo4 and was a single 
man and probably had been there a year or two 
before. He was an old man and his name is 
given by some Frcnelinian \v\u> could write as 
LeCompte. He made his home chictly with his 
next neighbor north. 

.Viuable Gallcrneau.x entered the north half 
of the south half of section •■!4. where the main 
]iart of the Stock Yards and the Exchange 
Building now stand. Gallerneaux lived nortli 
of the Sawyer Bluff, near where the trail 
crossed the Floyd, and "his house was a sort 
of stop]iing ]dace and ferry house and all the 
early travelers knew him, ns he help(>d them 
over the Floyd. He lia<l a scjnaw wif(^ and 
several small children and lu'i^hnblv located 



there about 1^.M or 1>."il'. as he had a well es- 
tablished sellK-Hient in 1>.">1. He sold out and 
niovi'd a few miles south and then wriit np 
the Missoiii'i river. 

John liajitisie Lal'lant. with his squaw wife 
and chihlren, was living with (ialliTnea\i\ in 
18.">4, but does not seem to have atteni]iied to 
enter land. He did not reniain long after 
1854, but went baek tip the Missouri river and 
probably was the man of that name who lived 
at Sionx Point. 

Hubert LaFlenr had a elaini east of the 
Stock Yards on the hill. Init pri)bably came 
later than 1S.")4. He went \o Sionx Point 
across the Sioux in Dakota and his face was cut 
open across the jaw below the nose with an ax 
in a fight. Dr. W. R. Smith patched it up as 
best he could, expecting he wotdd sooit die, 
but in a few days he was on the road to re- 
eoverv and lived many years. 

Louis Harvey of llarive. possibly an Ameri- 
can, had a claim on what is now Floyd City, 
comitig probably in 1S54 or 1855. He sold this 
claim in 1855 to Joseph Feounais, who entered 
it. Harvey had a shanty there in 1854. Henry 
Hivon and Charles Kondean had a elaim where 
Greenville now is. They ke]>t a fiM-ry over 
the Floyd after the Americans came in, and 
in 1856 sold out to Closes W. Bacon. Their 
residence there was not among the earliest of 
the French settlers. 

Feander T>. Cavtier had a claim in the tim- 
ber east of Leeds, and entered it under the 
s]ielling of Landers L. Cirtier. He was known 
as the wild Frenchman, and was commonly 
railed Kirko. ^fany anecdotes are tidd of his 
drunken recklessness. He was a familiar fig- 
ure on the streets of Sioux City for many 
years. He probably came here about 1855. Tt 
was said of him that he left his sqtutw wife and 
child in a cabin near St. Joseph, 'Missouri, and 
went nil the ^Missouri river on a trip for the 
Fur Com]iany and returning wIkmi he came in 
sight of his own house it was on fire, and on 
reaching' it discovered that his wife and child 



PAST AND riJESENT OF WOODBLKY lOUXTY 



had jH?rislRHl iu the ti:uues. i"n^m this ou he 
bevame wild and rtx'tle^. Oue of the earlv 
Sioiix City surveyors. J. 0. C. Hoskins. was 
once taken by Kirke into Sioux Point in a 
wagon through the timber where the road was a 
mere track winding among the trees. On the 
reinru Kirke, standing up, started his horses 
with an Indian war whoop and somehow man- 
aged to dodge the trees on either side by a 
fraction of an inch and landed his passenger 
safely, though badly frightouotl at the continu- 
ous series of hair breadth escapes. 

Kirke becjime a hanger-on at saloons and 
restaurants and lived with his old French ac- 
quaintances, accepting hospitality like the In- 
dian. He was fond of raw liver and wotild get 
it from the butcher shojv? and eat it at once. 
His clothes were dirty and greasy. 

The writer once saw Kirke fairly surprised. 
He Avas standing on Pearl street in front of 
a shop talking French to some one. when a 
stotit. well dressetl Frenchwoman who had just 
landed from a steamK->at from St. Louis, a sis- 
ter of Paul Paquetie. who had not seen her 
brother for many years and had come up in 
search of him. and no doubt was ready to expect 
anything in a brother who lived in this Indian 
country, seeing and hearing Kirke, at once 
concluding he was her long l^^st brother, threw 
her arms around his neok and kissed him and 
called him endearing names, before Kirke had 
time to realize what had happened. Explana- 
tions followinl and I can not say which one was 
the most disgusted. Oue needed to see Old 
Kirke to realize the amusing character of the 
scene to a spectator. Kirke went to Leaven- 
worth. Kansas, into some home or hospital and 
proKibly died there. He visitei^l Sionx City 
about lSi>0. 

Eli Bedard. whose wife was a sister of Jo- 
seph Leonuais, came down the ifissouri river 
as early as 1S5? and was at Bruguier's then. 
He sj^nt the winter of l?.'i+-5 with Leonuais 
in his cabin at the mouth of Perry creek and 
with others sot out the logs for his cabin which 



he built in the spring of ISoo on his claim 
which he entered, and with others platttnl as 
East Sioux City, this house Wing oue of the 
first houses built after Leonuais'. Bedard 
went to Kido, Nebraska, later with his brother- 
in-law, Rulo. and died there in 1S66. Some 
further accoimt of him is given in conneoiion 
with Joseph Leonnais. He left one son surviv- 
ing. 

There were a munber of Frenchmen ou the 
Sioux alcove Bmguier's and it is hard to tell 
jtist when they c;uae. Henry Ayotte was at 
one time a partner of Bruguier and lived with 
him on the Sioux, came here as early as 1S53. 
He had been one of Fremont's guides across the 
continent. He was a small, wiry, active man 
and was called Blue Eyes. He lived about 
here for a few years. He at one time kept a 
ferry across the Sioux near Bmguier's. Bru- 
guier is said to have given Ayotte one of his 
squaw wives. 

Paul Paquette came here about 1S52 or 1S53 
and settled near where the Big Sioux bridge 
now is and entered land mostly north of the 
road and kept a ferry near where the bridge 
is, which was much used. He had been a ftir 
trader up the river and was till his death a resi- 
dent on his farm. His American widow and 
children are still living in Sioux City. 

Gustav Peoaut was oue of the early promi- 
nent so^ralled Frenchmen, though he was K->m 
in Switzerland on the French speaking side 
July 1J>, 1896; he came to America with his 
sister when fourteen years old and was up the 
Missouri river with fur traders for many years. 
Was at Fort Benton four years>. He was at 
times mail carrier for the Ftir Company be- 
tween their forts and was shot by the Indians 
several times: he carried three shot in his hip 
and was hit in his nose with the gun wad and 
shot through one leg with an arrow. He came 
down to SivMix City in 1S52 or lS5o. and had 
a claim on the Sioux just aK»ve Paquette's. He 
was at Leonnais some in the winter of 1S54-5 
helping the surveyors;, and he staked out a daim 



PAST AXP PRESENT OF WOOPBrKY COUNTY 



T»59 



across the river iu Nebraska auvl with Thomas 
L. Gritfev laid out the town of Covington and 
lived there several vears. He married Chris- 
tina Held, Julv 10. 1S5S>, sister of the Held 
brothers, Germans, who were early settlers in 
Sioux City and later up the Floyd. Peoaut 
moved to Sionx City in iST-t and lived there 
till he died. December :?0. 1901. a prosperous 
and mucli resj^eoted citizen. He left a famliv 
of eight boys and five girls. 

Peter Deou and Felix LaBlanc and his wife 
Aima for a time lived on the Sioux, but pn^b- 
ably after 1S55. and sold to Miles Coffey. 

Fardina Gondrou or Fenlinaud Goudrow 
and his wife Anastasia were living near the 
Sioux bridge before 1S56. 

Joseph Juette before 1S56 lived on the Sioux 
at Riverside Park and sold his claim to Bru- 
gtiier. 

John Lafever lived near the Sioux, but prob- 
ably came later. 

Francis Belonger came probably about 1856. 
and settled up the Sioux near the Plymouth 
county line and later liveil on the road to 
Riverside. He was killed by falling over the 
cut onto the car track while on his way home 
from Sioux City. His family still lives id 
Sioux City. 

Peter Layone lived up the Sioux just over 
the Plymouth county line, coming before IS.'iG. 

Francois Liondell had land at Riverside be- 
fore 1S56. and sold out to Bruguier. This may 
have been the same man called Herondell. who 
first dug for coal up the Sioux. 

Loxiis Menard, a brother-in-law of Leonnais. 
had land up the Sioux next to the Plymouth 
county line. He probably followed Leonnais 
down here after it became known a town was 
to be locatcil here before 1S56, as he sold out 
that year and soon went back tip the river. 

Joseph Dillier came in later and livetl jtist 
south of the Stock Yards. 

Henry Goulet was here for a short time in 
lS."iO or before and dainieil land up the Sioux. 

Bruno Coumover. a trader, came here in 



iSoo. was very quiet and went to Rnlo. Ne- 
braska, with Charles Rulo. 

Louis Desey came in 1S55. lived in town, 
kept a grocery, later dieil here and his widow 
is still alive, 

Guieseppe Merrivalli was an early settler, 
usually called Jo Spaniard. Wing of that na- 
tionality. He had l^een with the French as a 
trader and followed them here. He remained 
only a few years. 

Lotiis D. Letellier was one of the most prom- 
inent of the early French and was identified 
^vith the city of Sioux City. He was lK>rn 
March 19. 1S27. at Beaumont. Ballechasse 
Coimty. Canada, tweh^e miles from Quel>ee. 
His father was a well educated man and his son 
received a fairly good education. He first 
learned the cabinet makers trade and worked 
some iu a ship yard and at carpenter work. He 
left Canada for the United States Atigust 15, 
1S4,^, going to Xew York and then West to 
Buffjtlo. and worked there two years, theit to 
Detroit and from there went to St, Louis, was 
sick there with fever and ague and for his 
health in the spring of 1S50 hireil to the Ftir 
Company with Eli Bedard for a year, to go to 
Fort Pierre as a carjienter, going up by steam- 
boat. He staid there two years and then was 
seat to Fort Union and in the summer of lSo2 
was sent with a trading party to the Blackfeet 
Indians and was re{X>rted drowneil and through 
word sent to Bedard who was then at the mouth 
of the Big Sioux he was re}X">rtetl to Letellicr's 
parents in Canada as dead. But Letellier was 
still alive and reached Fort Benton. He helped 
to build a keel K^at at Fort Benton early in the 
spring of 1853, In this boat he came down the 
river to Fort Union and staid there a year. In 
the spring of lS5-t he came down the river in 
a flat boat to Fort Berthold, and from there to 
St. Louis by steamer and from there going to 
Canada he surprisevl his parents, who stipposed 
him dead. He left Canada in the fore part of 
September in ciMupany with Clement Lanior- 
eaux, goin? first to St. Louis, where thev Kniffht 



770 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUXTY 



a trapping outfit to go oiit on their owu hook. 
A wagon, two horses, harnesses, traps, gims, 
provisions, ammunition, going to St. Joseph, 
Missouri, by steamboat and drove uj) from 
there with their team, reaching the Floyd river 
in eight days, where .Vmable Gallerneaux rowed 
them over in his boat and they floated their 
wagon over and soon came to Joseph Leonnais' 
house. Eli Bedard was there and had been cul- 
tivating Leonnais' land in partnership with 
him. He and Lamoreaux had not come to settle 
but to trap and soon started on horseback with 
their pack horse and camping and trapping out- 
fit, going up the Floyd. The grass was high, 
and they went up as far as the fork of the Floyd 
where Merrill now is. Game was abundant, 
deer, elk and wild turkey. They were stopped 
by a prairie fire and came back to Gallerneaux 
to cross the Floyd and went east to Smithland 
and then went above that place and found no 
settlement. 

They were about to set their traps when a 
small party of Santee Sioux came and told 
them a large party of Sioiix were coming down, 
so to save their horses they made haste to retiirn 
to Leonnais' place and from events that fol- 
lowed abandoned their career as trappers to 
turn farmer at first, and later as townsite spec- 
ulators. They helped Leonnais and Bedard 
build a large log stable to secure their horses 
from these Sioux horse thieves, as from their 
long Indian experience they were more afraid 
of losing their horses than their lives. 

By December 2.5, 1854, Letellier was in pos- 
session of the land he made claim to, being what 
is now Middle Sioux City, as Dr. John K. Cook 
was then at Leonnais' looking after his town- 
site business west of Perry creek. 

On December 25, 1854, Dr. John K. Cook, 
George W. Chamberlain, Eli Bedard, Clement 
Lamoreaux and Letellier crossed the Missouri 
riv^r in a flat boat and staked o\it timber 
claims on the Nebraska side, each taking a strip 
from the river front south. This was to get 
logs for their buildinc and Letellier and the 



others got their logs across that winter. Le- 
tellier's timber claim was the most easterly one, 
and he cultivated it that year, it being the first 
corn raised in that region. 

After they staked their timber claims across 
the river. Dr. Cook and his party surveyed 
what is Sioux City proper, west of Perry 
creek. Besides those names mentioned who 
crossed the Missouri, there was part of the time 
that winter at Leonnais', Frank Chapel, Dr. 
Frank B. Wixon, Samuel Kuth, a man named 
Sheldon, and Samuel F. Watts, the surveyor. 

Many have assisted a part of the time in the 
survey. It was an open winter. Letellier built 
his log cabin that winter, which was located 
north of Fourth street and east of Virginia 
street, near the bluff. Letellier kept this place 
a year or more and sold out to Samiiel H. Cas- 
sady in 1856 and bought a third interest with 
Bedard in East Sioux City. 

Early in 1857 Letillier, with his friends 
Bedard, Lamoreaux, Kulo and B. Cournoyer 
went on a visit to Canada. It was the winter 
of deep snow and they drove their own team as 
far as St. Jo, ^Missouri. April 2, 1857, Le- 
tillier married his old sweetheart and the next 
day started for Sioux City with his bride. Le- 
tillier later in 1860 went up the Missouri to 
Fort Pierre for Theophile Bruguier on a trad- 
ing expedition. Hamilton, an old trader, was 
in charge ; also Leonnais, Sheldon and Cox. 
After getting part way up Hamilton got scared 
at reports of Indian difliculties and turned his 
teams back, as Letillier termed it from 
cowardice, and in a day or two met Bruguier 
coming up. Bruguier was furious and turned 
the outfit back and resumed the trip to Pierre. 
After much hardship and danger from a large 
band of Indians, who surrounde<l and robbed 
them of considerable of their merchandise, they 
reached Fort Pierre. They soon returned to 
Sioux City. At the time of the Indian trouble 
Letillier was a member of the Border Brigade, 
and was at Cherokee and helped build the log 
fort there. His health failed about this time 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODIUIIY COUNTY 



■,71 



and he commeueed to attend to tlie feeding of 
the soldiers; and in 1803 he bought a place for 
a hotel on the west side of Pearl street between 
Third and Fourth streets and kept what was 
called the Montreal House, which was for many 
years the stopping place for all the French. 

Later he retired from business and is still 
living, a qniet, intelligent citizen. He kept a 
diary during the time he was up the Missouri 
river and condensed it into English. He, in 
the early settlement, was interested with Be- 
<lard and Lamoreaux in what was South Sioux 
City, where the Stock Yards now are. 

Clement Lamoreaiix came from Canada with 
Letillier in the fall of 1854 and brought a wife 
back from there in 1857. He was interested 
with Letillier and Bedard in their real estate 
speculation. Lie died in Sioux City in March, 
1858. 

Odillon Lamoreaux, a brother of Clement, 
came to Sioux City in 1857. He married Rose, 
the eldest daughter of Bruguier. 

Charles Gagnon was in Sioux City for a 
time in early days and went to Kulo, ^^ebraska, 
with Kulo. 

Mi's. Mary Ann Lai)ora, a widow, a sister of 
Joseph Leonnais, came here with her son Ed- 
mund and daughter, in the fall of 1854, and 
lived with Leonnais. She was the first fidl- 
blooded white woman to live in Sioux City. 
March 12, 1856, she was married to Charles 
Sangster, an American, it being the first white 
marriage in Sioux City. Her husband died 
later. She is still living at Sioux Point. 

George L. Tackett has been classed among 
the French because he spoke the language, as 
well as several Indian dialects, and had been 
a fur trader and had had a squaw wife. He 
came here in 1856, married a white woman, 
raised a family of children, and was fur many 
years city marshal and died here. 

We have left the name of Joseph Leonnais 
till the last, as he is so generally reputed as the 
first settler in Sioux City and we have thought 
it best to let him tell his own storv from inter- 



iews with him, though it may inciudt' some 
latter that is more fitting for a biography. 



INTERVIEW WITH JOSEPH LIOX- 
AIS, NOVEMBER 23, 1890 

I was born in the year 1818 in Canada, Pro- 
vince of Quebec, at Sorel ; came to this country, 
United States, when 18 years old. I first went 
to Mackinac Island, [Michigan; stayed there six 
months and went to Chicago. Chicago was a 
little place then; stayed there three months, 
then went to St. Louis, Mo. I stayed there 
about a month, then I commenced traveling up 
the ^lissouri river, trading with the Indians 
for the American Fur Company for Pierre 
Chouteau firm (P. Chouteau V Co. owned 
American Fur Company), traveled about 
twenty years. I commenced to work for them 
when I was about 19 years old. 

In about 1837 or 1838 I went up the Mis- 
souri river on a steamboat, the "Antelope," 
(^aptain Cier, stopped where what is now Fort 
Pierre. My cousin, August Traversie, had 
gone up six or seven years before and then lived 
just below the mouth of the Vermilion river in 
1 )akota. 

On the 15th of June that year I went up 
the Yellowstone in a mackinaw ; cordelled it vip 
the river, and we were three months cordelling 
it up. We were five and one-half days without 
anything to eat; there were fifteen men of us. 
There was a fort named Yellowstone — Fort 
Fnion is the proper name — at the mouth of the 
Yellowstone river. I carried dispatches. I 
came back to Fort Pierre the next January. I 
stayed at Fort Pierre from January to the next 
June. The fort, probably a trading post of 
the fur com])any, was commanded by Honore 
Pieottc. 

We left Fort Pierre and came down the Mis- 
souri river on a flat boat, and got into St. Louis 
the 4th of July. I first saAV Theophile Bruguier 
at Vermilion (second or third trip up the riv- 
er V He was tlie boss at the fnrt tliore for the 



772 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



American Fur Coinpauj. I met Leander Car- 
tier (Kirke) while I was at Fort Pierre the last 
time. Paul Paquette went on these trips up the 
river with me. La Plante, the old man (who 
lived near McCook afterward), went up with 
me that first year. The next year I went to 
Praire du Chien, Wisconsin, probably 1840. 

The next year after that I came up the 
Missouri river on a steamboat (1841) ; Captain 
LaBarge's boat. I can not remember whether 
it was Andrew or Joseph LaBarge that was 
captain of this boat. I got the fever and ague 
and I got off the l)oat opposite Vermilion. 
Forty men had the fever and ague and they 
were put off the boat with five crackers and a 
pound of pork apiece to make the trip from 
Vermilion to Fort Pierre. We walked from 
there to Fort Pierre. It took iis ten days ; we 
got one antelope. We staid there a year, till 
IS 42, and then came down to St. Louis the sec- 
ond time. We slept at Sioux City at the mouth 
of Perry creek one night. There were some 
big trees between Perry creek and the bluff. 
The next year, 1843, we came up to St. Joe, 
Missouri, on a boat, and staid there a month; 
there were three men of us. We rode one horse 
and had another pack horse apiece. "Wlien Ave 
got down to Floyd's Bluff, Bill Thompson and 
his brother Charley Thompson were living 
there ; had a log house. (The first trips we made 
we saw no person from about 100 miles below 
St. Joe till we got to Fort Pierre, except at the 
forts.) We crossed the Floyd about at Green- 
N'ille and crossed Perry creek near George 
Weare's place, and crossed the Sioux about 
where the Sioux bridge is now. Saw nobody 
till we got to Vermilion. 

Paul Paquette stayed h|) at Fort Pierre the 
first year he went up. He went up with me 
tlien from Vermilion, and did not come liack 
to Vermilion. Wo went up to Fort Benton on 
horseback, stayed there a year, till 184.5, and 
came back the next spring on a mackinaw. We 
got better wages when we went on horseback. 
Wp usually went up in the fall and back in the 



spring to St. Louis for twemty years. I am 
77 years old, will be 78 next June. 

It was about forty-four years ago that I first 
came to Sioux City. Robert Perry lived just 
across the creek from George Weare's. He 
looked like a young man. Perry stayed about 
one or two years after I came, but old Bruguier 
scared him away with the Indians. Bruguier 
had built a log house, and I bought Bruguier 
out. The house stood where Truedell had his 
wagon shop. It is part of the ground on which 
the Tolerton & Stetson wholesale house now 
•stands, fronting on Second street between Pearl 
and Water streets. I gave Bruguier $100 for 
his claim. I cultivated sixteen acres. August 
Traversie had settled near Bill Thompson's a 
year or two before I came onto this land. Tra- 
versie's wife was the Indian War Eagle's 
daughter. She had been Bruguier's first wife, 
but Traversie got her away. 

My oldest son is Joseph Lionais. He was 
born near the foot of Sawyer's Bluff, May 19, 
1853, and I lived there for five or six months 
before I bought the house of Bruguier. My 
daughter Josephine, wife of Louis O. Parent, 
was born June 15, 1855, two years after, while 
T lived at the mouth of Perry creek. ily 
wife's name was Rosalie Menard; her father 
lived at Fort Pierre. They used to call him 
"Old Menard." He was a Frenchman and his 
wife was an Indian woman. 

I sold out to Dr. Cook and Daniel Eider in 
the spring of 1855, got $3,000 for my claim, 
then I bought a claim in what is now Floyd 
City, and paid $100 for it. I bought this 
claim of Lotiis Harvey, a Frenchman from St. 
Louis. Pattl Paquette settled up by the Sioux 
some time after I settled there. Bruguier had 
his claim at the month of the Sioux, but he 
built this house on Perry creek. Charles Bulo 
Iiad been U]1 and down the river before that 
time. I went to Rulo, Nebraska, in three or 
four years after I sold out to Dr. Cook, and 
stayed there two years and then came back. 
Mv wife died soon after. Then T married a 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



773 



wciiiian from Quebec, named Victoria Gauou, 
anil slie died six years ago, and then I mar- 
ried my present wife, Eosalia. 

I never had any lights with the Indians. I 
never stayed with them except when I was 
traveling and dealing with them. I never 
lived with them. They wei-e peaceable. 

It is about forty years ago that Leander Car- 
tier's wife and two children were burned in a 
house at St. Joseph, Missouri. He (L'artierJ 
was away from home at the time. After that 
Cartier was good for nothing. They called 
him the "Crazy Frenchman." 

When I boiight Bruguier out, and paid him 
$100, I went on a spree with Ayotte, who was 
in partnership with old man Bruguier. I was 
on horseback, and rode from Bruguier's home 
on the Sioux across the hills, and then off of 
Prospect Hill into the Missouri river. The 
horse I was on went on down the hill into the 
river, but I catight onto a little mulberry tree 
three or four feet from the river bank. Four 
Indians came after me and got me out. Bru- 
guier knew that I was full of liquor, and sent 
his son on horseback after me (Lionais). I 
thought the boy wanted to race and I whipped 
up my horse and ran him over the face of the 
hill. I took my whip and whipped my mare 
all I co^ild, and raced two or three miles. 

Ajnable Gallerneaux came from Assump- 
tion, Canada, about twenty-four miles below 
Montreal. He went up the river about ten 
years before I did. I first saw him at Ft. 
Pierre. He came here to Sioux City about two 
years before I sold to Dr. Cook. L. D. Le- 
tillier came up the Missotiri river about ten 
years after I did. Letillier was living \vitli me 
when I Sold to Dr. Cook. He had been living 
with me about six months. He was a single 
nnin then. O'Dillon Lamereaux and Clement 
Lamereaux came from Canada about fifteen 
years after I did. Clement stayed with me 
some time. O'Dillon Lamei'eaux married one 
of Bruguier's daughters, Rose. She is now liv- 
ino- as the wife of old man Dubois at Sloan. 



JOSEPH LIONAIS. APRIL 20, 1898. 

I lived on the levee here in Sioux City forty- 
four years ago. I got a barrel of whiskey at 
Council Bluffs ; there was a whole lot of Sioux 
Indians in my cabin. I sold the whisky to the 
Indians for furs ; at first it was pure whisky. 
There were about forty or fifty Indians ; then, 
when they felt pretty good, I commenced to 
fill it up with water. They kept drinking and 
as fast as they drank, I filled it up with more 
water. After they got pretty full they could 
not tell the difference between the whisky and 
water ; it went pretty fast till I got all their 
furs. When I got through selling it was pretty 
much all water. I got about $200 worth of 
furs ; the whiskey cost me about eighteen cents a 
gallon. I finally traded the balance of the 
Avhisky for a pony, and got $60 for the pony. 

I had trouble with the Indians a good many 
times, but I had to show myself brave or they 
would have killed me. If a white man shows 
that he is afraid of an Indian he is sure to get 
killed, but if he walks right out to them, and 
isn't afraid, they will run. The Indians have 
pulled their arrows to shoot at me sometimes, 
but I stood up to them and they quit. I loaded 
my gun right before them, to let them know I 
was ready to shoot. 

Fort Vermilion, where the trading posts 
used to be, was about fifteen miles this side of 
the towm of Vermilion on the Dakota side of 
the river; it was a small place; three or four 
houses. William Dixon was the trader; he 
worked for the Chouteau Company. T. Bruen- 
ier was the next one there. Just below Council 
Bluffs was another trading post belonging to 
Chouteau, but Sarpie was the head man there. 
A man by the name of LeClaire was trading for 
himself at the mouth of the Niobrara river. . 
The next one was old Fort Pierre. Honore Pi- 
cotte was there ; that was the largest one there 
was in that part of the country. The next one 
was a little below where Bismarck now is. Ft. 
Leerie ; there was an Indian tribe bv that 



774 



TAST AND PEESEXT OF \V()(J1)BURY COUXTY 



name. This ".vus where the MaiiJan Indians 
were. 

Sergeant Floyd's grave here in Sioux City 
was well known when I first came up the river. 
I don't know that there was any post j^ut up ; 
the path went right by it. 

Fort Lapenter was tip on the Yellowstone ; 
the first time I went np the river I went 
from Pierre up the Yellowstone. I chopped 
wood. There was a fort called Yellowstone 
Fort. Was there two years; stayed there all 
winter and came back in the spring. There 
were two of us, a Spaniard and myself. 
This Spaniard was Mirable; he lived here 
in Sioux City aftenvard. George Tack- 
ett came up the river after I did. Perr^-, the 
one Perry creek was named after, w'as living 
on Perry creek before I bought my house of 
Bruguier. Bruguier frightened Perry out of 
the country; he got the Indians to scare him, 
and Perry had a horse and he rigged up a 
wagon of poles and hauled his stuff out of the 
country ; went south in the month of Septem- 
ber; that was before I built my house. Perry 
gave me his shanty. Perry's home was on the 
other side of Perry creek. Theophile Heggi, 
when he came to Sioux City lived right close to 
where Perry's house was. I made a shed of 
Perry's house for a storeroom for furs, and 
when I built my house I moved it down to my 
house, and made a granary out of it. Perry 
lived here only about a year and a half. Perry 
was an eccentric, excitable fellow easily fright- 
ened. I never heard of him afterward. 

The foregoing is as related by Lionais him- 
self. He was unable to read or write, and his 
dates are not always to be relied on, as he 
named no years, but spoke relatively of the 
number of years before or after certain events, 
and as in the case of meeting William Thomp- 
son at Floyd's Bluff, he is evidently confused 
as to which trip he stopped there. 

Leouais' name was spelled in numberless 
ways by others in the various transactions when 
requiro<l to be written. As Leonais said In- 



other Frenchmen to be correct, it was also writ- 
ten Leouais, Liona, Lyonat. 

He served in the army in Company D, First 
Battalion Dakota Volunteer Cavalry, and drew 
a pension in the name of Joseph Lyonnais. 

He was a short, well proportioned man, ac- 
tive, and, as natural in his early mode of life, was 
in the habit of going on occasional sprees, wheii 
he made things lively, but in his later years, 
after he sold his remaining interest in Floyd 
City east, the Floyd where the Cudahy Pack- 
ing House is located, to !N^. Desparois, for an 
annuity of $G0 a mouth, he became a conserva- 
tive and husbanded his health and his money, 
but would not buy real estate, as he had a 
horror of paying taxes, induced no doubt by his 
experience in keeping ui3 his taxes on his laud 
before that, as he never was much of a farmer, 
and had always been rather poor. 

Joseph Leonais married a daughter of Louis 
Menard, a French employe of the American 
Fur Company, who had married an Indian 
wife and made his home at Fort Pierre. This 
Louis Menard seems to have been something of 
a character, unless there was another of the 
same name up the river; he was an old 
voyageur, had been with Fremont in his trip to 
the Pocky Mountains in 1842 and to Oregon 
and California in 1843 and 1844. He was 
with Charles Larpenteur, the trader, at the 
mouth of jSTiobrara in 1852 and 1853. 

He had three sons and three daughters : 1st, 
Eosalio Menard married Joseph Leonnais about 
18.51 and came to Sioux City; 2d, his daughter 
Amelia married Charles Rulo, one of the early 
settlers of Sioux City, and the founder of Rulo, 
Xebraska. Mrs. Kulo is yet alive; her hus- 
band died and she remarried; she has been 
kno^m as Missouri Timber, now Amelia Spider. 
She had eleven children and numerous grand- 
children. 

Eli Bcdard, one of Sioux City's early set- 
tlers, one of the men who platted East Sioux 
City^ married the third datighter, Sophia ilen- 
ard, who lived with Joseph Leonnais the winter 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



775 



of 1854 and 1S55. They moved to Kiilo, Ne- 
braska, where he died in 1866, and had several 
childrcu; his wife died before him. 4th. His 
sou, Louis Menard, was at Sioux City in early 
days and was living at Eosebud Agency a few 
years ago; he had four chiklren. 

5th. Son, Leon Menard, died at Rosebud 
Agency about 1882. 

6th. Son, George Menard, died single about 
1888. 

1st, Josejjh and Kosalie Leonnais had four 
children, the eldest, Joseph, born May 19, 1853, 
has lived mostly in Sioux City, and yet re- 
sides there ; is single, and much resembles his 
father. 

2d, Daughter Josephine, lives in Sioiix City ; 
she married Louis O. Parent, they had six 
children: Josephine, Rose, Willie, Villery, An- 
drew and Arthur. Many of them are now living 
in Sioux City. 

3d, A daughter, Rosalie, born probably about 
1858, married Alex Charboneaux; they went to 
Cheyenne, Indian Agency, and then to Rose- 
bud Agency, where she died about 1893 ; they 
had four children. 

4th, Son William, born about 1861, lived to 
be about 25 years old and died single in San 
Antonio, Texas. 

The mother, Rosalie, died soon after the birth 
of William and was buried on the top of the hill 
southeast of Floyd monument, where other 
graves are located. Joseph Leonnais died in 
Sioux City May 25, 1900, and was buried in 
Mount Calvary Cemetery. 

The descendants of Louis Menard and his 
squaw wife have been numerous and they seem 
to have been inclined to keep vip their affilia- 
tions with the Indians, as his grandchildren and 
great grandchildren have many of them re- 
sided with the Indians for a time and attended 
their schools. He died at Rulo, ^NTebraska. 

Joseph Leonnais cultivated his field during 
the vears 1852, 1853 and 1854, which was 
located about between what is now Pierce street 
and Perrv creek, south of Seventh street, and 



his claim or right to land after the government 
survey was the southwest quarter of section 
28, bounded on the north by Seventh street, 
on the east by Jones street, on the south by 
the Missouri river, and on the west by sec- 
tion line which followed very nearly the line 
of Perry creek, crossing it several times. 

He built a log house in part out of some logs 
that T. Bruguier had thrown together near the 
mouth of Perry creek, and this remained for 
several years after he sold to Dr. Cook in the 
spring of 1855, and was for some time the chief 
hotel and only stopping place. He bought the 
ground and platted Floyd City, sold most of it, 
but kept the part east of the Floyd river and 
biiilt a house on the east line just south of 
Leech street, where after he returned from 
Rulo, Nebraska, he lived for many years, doing 
a little farming till he sold to Narcesse DoSpar- 
ois about 1885, for an annuity. 

He then bought a small house on the bank of 
the Missouri river in East Sioux City near the 
foot of Court street, where he lived till he died. 
He was a familiar sight on the streets for many 
years. 

We have endeavored to name all the early 
French settlers, as they were in the beginning 
a prominent feature in our early history, 
though they were soon overshadowed by the 
great influx of Americans and other nationali- 
ties that soon followed. From previous habits 
many of them were not qualified to contest for 
material prosperity with their better educated 
white competitors and many of them departed, 
l)ut a prominent capable few remained and had 
an important part in our growth and many more 
have come in and now Woodbury county has a 
large number of worthy French citizens. 

A brief summary of the Government Land 
Surveys will be of intei-est to many and we de- 
serilic them here. 

The LTnited States Government siirveys in 
the county commenced with the surveying the 
correction line between townships 88 and 89, 
frum the east to west, ending at the ^fissouri 



776 



PAST AXi) PKKSKXT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



river, wliicli was done from August 4 U> 15, 
1849, and on this survey the section and q\iar- 
ter section corners for starting the new base for 
the subdivisions north were set. This was 
done bv James M. Marsh, Department Sur- 
veyor. William Cook, who has written con- 
siderable (in early Iowa history, was one of 
the chainnien. 

The ruuiiing- the township lines south of the 
correction line that is south of the north tier 
of townshijjs in the county was done by Alex- 
ander Anderson, Deputy Surveyor, of Dti- 
biupie, commencing at the south line of the 
county August (i, 1851, and working north un- 
til Decemlicr, and commencing !March 2'.^, 
1852, and ending in April, and Alexander An- 
derson, Deputy Sur\-eyor, ran the township 
lines in township 89 from August 4 to August 
15, 185;3. Leonard Bates, an early settler, was 
one of the markers in this survey. 

The subdivision of the townshijjs into sec- 
tions commenced with this same Dei3uty United 
States Surveyor, Alexander Anderson, of Du- 
buque, in the southern part of the county, com- 
mencing October 3, 1852, and ending in De- 
cember. He surveyed townships 86, 87 and 
88, ranges 46, 47 and 48. This embraced the 
present townshi])s of Sloan, Lakcjiort, Grange, 
Liberty, Floyd, Woodbury witli the piece of 
Sioux City that is below the correction line. 

James Seevers and Silas Sawyer, survey- 
ors, commencing April 6, 1853, and ending 
April 21, 1853, subdivided into sections town- 
ships 86, 87 and sS, range 45, comprising the 
present townsliii)s of Willow, Westfork and 
Moville. 

John W. Eoss, De])uty United States Sur- 
veyor, commencing February 5, 1853, and end- 
ing May 10, 1853, subdivided into sections 
townships 86, 87 and 88, ranges 43 and 44, 
comprising the jircscnt townshijis of Little 
Sioux, Oto, Grant, ]\liller. Wolf Creek and 
Kedron. 

John K. Cook, as United States Siirveyor, 
and Sanniel F. Watts as Dejiuty, with Samuel 



Kutli, as one of the chainmen, and George W. 
Cluuuberlain, as flagman, all of whom settled 
here, subdivided township 89, ranges 46 and 
47, which included Concord townshij) and most 
of what is now Sioux City. This was done com- 
mencing May 24 and ending July 12, 1854. 

J. L. Sharp, as Deputy Sttrveyor, subdivided 
township S!>, range 48, the west part of Siottx 
City, from .Vpril 27 to ^>lay 4, 1854. 

Henry Allen, Surveyor, subdivided town- 
ship 89, range 42, Union townshi]i, between 
Jtily 3 and July 16, 1854, and subdivided 
township 89, ranges 44 and 45, between April 
2n and ilay 23, 1855. These now are Arling- 
ton and Banner townships. 

David Ferguson, Surveyor, subdivided 
townshij) 89, range 43, being liutland town- 
sliiji, from ^lay 1, to May 5, 1854. Flijah 
Pearson was axmau in this survey. He may 
lia\'e been a relative of Moses H. Pearson, 
after whom tlie stream and town there were 
named. 

John P. Brown, Surveyor, subdivided town- 
ships 86, 87 and 88, range 42, between October 
21 and November 10, 1855, now being Liston, 
Morgan and Rock townships. 

These surveyors attempted to note on the 
nia]is made, and their field notes, things of im- 
portaiK'c, as the i-oads and settlements, and at 
the end of each township survey they made 
some general comments, as, for instance, in 
one township near the center of the county, re- 
marked it would never be settleti owing to the 
lack of timlier. 

Roads are marked or described. 

Tn the sui'vcy of townshi]) 86, range 44, Lit- 
tle Sioux township, a road is marked running 
on the west side of the Siou.x from Smith's 
house, marked about the center of the north- 
east (piarter (<f sectifin 23, then south, forking 
and going southeast and crossing the south 
township line on section 32, and the notes say 
this road is a mere wagon track, and branches 
in a great many directions as it approaches 
the settlement. This road led southwest to 



PAST AND PRESJiXT OF WOODBUKY t'orXTY 



777 



Asliton in Monona t-ounty ])robal)ly, and from 
there it followed the main trail to Council 
Bluffs. 

The notes further say of this tiiwuship that 
"Smith's imjn'ovemcnts on the northeast quar- 
ter of section 23 is three acres under fence and 
log cal)in." This is the only house marked 
on the plat, but it says that the other ''im- 
provements in the townshiiJ consist of Lamb's 
farm in the southeast quarter, section 14, log 
house, five acres under fence — Lee's farm on 
section 26, log house, four acres under fence — 
White's farm, southeast quarter, four acres 
under fence." This was in February, 1853. 

At the west end of the county the road com- 
ing from Council Bluffs to the Big Sioux is 
marked and named on each township plat gen- 
erally as the "Floyd's Bluff road" up to that 
bluff', and above there is marked or called 
"road from Floyd's Bluff' to Ferry on the 
Sioux." It came across the south line of the 
county in Sloan township in tlie south line of 
sotithwest qtiarter of section 32 and ran north- 
west and across section 19, into Lakeport town- 
ship, and then about west to Sand Hill lake, 
and up along the east bank of this lake and out 
of tlie township just west of the corner of sec- 
tions 2 and 3 into Liberty township, and going 
north through this and out on the north line 
on line between sections 5 and 6, having bowed 
to tlie west as it came through the to^xiiship, 
going through Woodbury township, along west 
of the bluff', and crossing into township 88, 
range 48, abotit half way up the line, and end- 
ing at Floyd's Bluff, and then above it, it is 
nuirked as crossing the Floyd at the foot of 
Sawyer's Bluff onto the island, or where the 
Armour Packing Plant now stands, and up 
through Floyd City, and then came close to the 
ilissouri river bank above the mouth of the 
Floyd, and up across Perry creek about Xinth 
street, and then southwest till it came to about 
where the Riverside car line rtms, and then 
on about that line to the Sioux. 

Jtist west of Perrv Creek this road forks and 



a line marked "trail" goes northeast across 
Perry creek and over to the Floyd, about where 
we have descril)ed the linffabi trail as going. 

There is also marked, without a name, a 
road going from the Floyd a short distance 
southeast, just south of Greenville. 

On these plats no houses are marked south of 
Sergeants Bluff, in most cases the notes saying 
there were no settlements. 

On the majjs of township 88, ranges 47 and 
48, Floyd's grave is marked, and Thompson's 
house is located near the river on Government 
lot 8, the one the monument is located in, and 
south of this line nmrks like squares are made 
to indicate blocks, and it is marKed "Floyd's 
Bluff'," and the location of the grave and 
Thom])Son's house are designated in field notes 
at speeitic distances and directions from a 
given corner. Surveyor Anderson says "This 
is a valuable fraction ; town of Floyd's Bluff 
is the first point on the Missotiri river for 250 
miles where Bluff comes to river, land good, 
and all claimed in northern part, and will sell." 

And he also said the year before (1851), 
when running the township line, that "Ser- 
geants Bluff' on section 1 is the first point 
above St. Joe, Missouri, where the Missouri 
river comes to the bluff, well situated for a 
town. Mtist always be a point of some note, 
about six miles below mouth of Big Sioux, all 
the town site in Iowa on Missouri river." 

So even the pioneer surveyor was inspired by 
Bill Thompson's large hopes and was prophesy- 
ing a town there. He missed his calcttlations 
l->y a very few miles only. He had not then, 
perhaps, been up across the Floyd, as he did not 
survey that township. 

He marked, in the spring of 1852, Charles 
Rulo's, Francis La Charity's and Jo Span- 
iard's houses, and marks a house with no name 
where Traversies was located, and on the river 
1)ank on section 25 marks a house as "Black- 
foot's." 

In township 89, range 47, Sioux City, a 
house and small cidtivated field are marked at 



778 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



the Floyd crossing, where Gallerneaux lived, 
and a house and cultivated field are shown just 
east of the mouth of Perry creek, marked 
Joseph Yanna's (Leonnais), and he says that 
there is a house on south half of southeast quar- 
ter, section 27, which must have been Hiram 
Nelson's in Central Sioux City, as Gibson 
Bates, who was there in 1854 sj)eaks of a sod 
shanty in aljout that location. 

There is also marked on this plat a small 
cultivated field about where Greenville lies 
along Bacon creek. This may have been on 
the claim Henry Hivon and Charles Koudean 
sold to Closes W. Bacon in 1856. They kept a 
ferry over the Floyd, and east of there about 
east of Greenville in the southwest corner of 
section 26 a spot is marked "Indian graves." 

On the survey of the fractional township at 
Riverside in the bend of the Sioux to the west, 
just below the bridge, a cultivated field is 
shown, in area of twenty-five to thirty acres, 
and another larger one is shown about where 
the fair ground now is, and just southeast of 
this, where the old Bruguier's house now stands, 
it is marked in three or four rows to represent 
houses or tents, and the field notes when run- 
ning the meander line along the Sioux, on com- 
ing to this point say, "There were fifteen 
French and Indian houses on Sioux river." 
This was in April, 1854, but tliis surveyor did 
not mark in the plat the houses or name the 
settlers in his field notes as the other survey- 
ors had done. 

It thus appears that the Government sur- 
veying was in progress from 1840 to 1855, in- 
clusive, except the year 1850. 

After these surveyors had eomjileted their 
work, plats were made of each township, and 
in the course of from three to six months copies 
of these maps were sent from the Surveyor- 
General's office at Dubuque, Iowa, to the Gen- 
eral Land Office at Washington, and in due 
time these plats, with proper instructions, were 
sent to the local land offices then at Council 
Bluff's, and the land l)ecame subject to pre- 



emption by actual settlers, but not to private 
entry until proper notice. So considerable 
time elapsed before it could be entered for 
cash or by location of military Bounty Land 
Warrants. The first entries of land in Wood- 
bury comity Avere in 1854, and these mostly by 
actual settlers. 

The Indians were here before the French 
settlers, but with the advent of the latter, with 
their squaw wives, the aborigines naturally 
congregated around them, and tliungh more or 
less migratory, had their camps near their white 
friends and continued numerous for many 
years. 

Early in the winter of 1854 a party of Sioux 
went as far south as the Little Sioux river in 
Harrison county iu search of a party of Oma- 
has, with whom they were then at war. The 
Onndias still continuing to come over on the 
Iowa side of the Missottri river, they killed 
four Omahas and stole their ponies. A party 
of Omahas started in jjursuit and came to Lar- 
penteur's place, and, taking it for granted his 
squaw wife was a Sioux, because she came from 
up the river, killed her, she understanding, the 
instant she saw them coming, that it meant 
death to her. They offered no violence to any 
one else. Aliont that time some Indians were 
trading with Traversie at his place, just below 
Floyd's grave. They were not Omahas : at any 
rate, War Eagle's liand, camped up at the 
mouth of the Big Sioux at Bruguier's, were 
hostile to them, and they crossed the Missouri 
into Nebraska and then crossed back into Iowa 
just below Traversie's, and made an attack on 
the Indians trading there, who M-ent out, and 
they exchanged shots in the timber all night, 
and finally got nj) the river a little ways on op- 
posite sides of the ra\-inc just north of the 
Floyd's grave and faced each other for two 
days, no one lieing hurt, till finally the trading 
party got aw:iy in the night ami went U]i the 
Floyd.' 

This was ])V(iliably the last l)attle between 
Indians in tliis vieinifv. It occurred soon after 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBrKY COUNTY 



(79 



Thomas L. Griffev heli^ecl organize the county, 
and he and William Thompson were at Trav- 
ersie's when the attack was made. 

The high bluff just below Thompson's was a 
sort of burying ground for the Indians, as in 
the fall of 1854 they would often about dusk 
come ti]i under this bluff, holding a sort of 
}io\v M'ciw in order to drive away the bad spir- 
its from the dead, who were buried on high 
scaffolds about there. 

Mr. Herman D. Clark came to look at this 
country in May, 1855, and stopped with Bill 
Thompson at first and narrates that one day 
he started to go to Sioux City, but before he 
got as far as the Floyd he went to the edge of 
the bluff and looked over into ISTebraska, and 
right under tbe bluff on the Iowa side was a 
party of about fiifteen Pawnee bucks having a 
scalp dance. The scalps were up on poles eight 
or ten feet high, and they were beating their 
tom-toms and dancing around, having a wild 
time. They had taken these scalps over in 
Nebraska and had not stopped until they got 
safely across the river. Being a stranger to the 
party and the country, Mr. Clark did not in- 
trude, and, quietly withdrawing, postponed his 
visit to the new metropolis, Sioux City. 

That summer of 1855 there was an Indian 
camp between Charles Rulo's house and the 
river, and C. E. Woodford, now living, who was 
then a boy just arrived in this country, was ac- 
customed on Sundays to go up there with his 
only playmate, Chaska Sioux, an Indian boy, 
who lived with T. Ellwood Clark, and play with 
the Sioux Indian boys; they wotdd all go in 
swiunning together and the Indian boys would 
throw mud at the white skin of the Woodford 
boy, but at the advice of Chaska he took it all 
in good part. He recollects that Charles Rulo 
used occasionally to get intoxicated, and always 
when in his cups would say, "Big man me, 
Charles Rulo, eat half a hog and swim Mis- 
souri river before breakfast." 

Mr. George Murf)hy relates the following in- 
cident: The only time I was ever witness to 



the manner of Indians treating their sick or dis- 
abled ones was one time, probably in the sj^ring 
of '5(3, when I was on my way to Smithland 
from Sergeants Bluff's ; as night overtook me 
I struck a fresh Indian trail that led to a small 
grove of timber in tJie lilutt's, where I found 
a camp of Indians hunting ducks on the bot- 
tom near the mouth of Wolf creek. Wben I 
got to their camp I found Sam Watts, who had 
just got there from the opposite direction; we 
concluded to stop with them until morning. 
They gave us boiled corn and duck for supper, 
and after sujiper the bucks all left the tent. 
One of them had sjirained his ankle, and they 
had dug a pit about three feet deep, then built 
a fire and heated several rocks, then threw the 
rock in the pit, and after seating the Indian 
on a frame of willows over the pit, they threw 
water on the stones, covered him all over with 
blankets, nearly suffocating him, in order to 
steam his ankle ; then they formed a circle, fol- 
lowing one another around, beating drums, 
pans and other things and yelling as only sav- 
ages can to drive away the bad spirits. Watts 
and I were told to stay in the tent with the 
squaws. As we did not know what tliey were 
doing. Watts went to the door of tlie tent and 
pulled the curtain to one side to look out, but 
the sqitaw soon drove him back — "Minnehoska" 
was spoiling the charm. However, in the morn- 
ing before we left we saw the means they had 
used to relieve the strain, or sprain. Wliy tliey 
thought it necessary to steam the whole body, 
not leaving a hole for him to breathe through. 
is something I could not Tinderstand, but the 
squaw made Watts understand he was not to 
peek. 

When Dr. John K. Cook, in the spring of 
1854, came to make his survey of the township 
in which Sioux City is located he found Smut- 
tybear, an Indian chief, with a band of his 
tribe encamjied near the motith of the Floyd. 
This chief seemed to understand that this sur- 
vey was an entering wedge of white invasion 
of what had hitherto been his country, and or- 



PAST AXD PlfESEXT OF WOODIU'RY COT^XTY 



(lereil Dr. ('nnk t<> stop his surveying, that if 
he did unt he Monhl call his followers from the 
country above on the river and stop him by 
violence. The Doctor replied, throngli an iu- 
terj^retcr, that if the Indians disturbed him 
he would go at once for Avhite men suiUcient 
in ntimber ti) wipe out the red men, and tlic 
chief concluded it was no use to try to enforce 
his threat and soon departed. 

In the fall of 1S.")4 ^Irs. Sangster came here 
from Canada with her twn children. She was 
the first white woman to come to the country 
and many of the Indians had never seen a 
white woman or child, and they crowded aroiind 
her to examine her clothing. Soon after she 
arrived there was a scalp danct' in front of 
Joe Leonnais' house, a Sioux squaw, Mother 
Bluenose by name, holding the seal]) of a light- 
haired man on the end of a pole for them t(i 
dance about, and finally Joe Leonnais made 
them go away. It was rather a lonesome life 
for the only white woman ; her children had 
only Indian boys and girls to play with, and 
for a long time she wanted to go back to 
Canada. 

Along the Little Sioux, near Oto, Indians 
were accustomed to camp and for a time were 
peaceably disposed. They were for many years 
in the habit of traveling arouml tlie country 
in small parties, and many <if them were bad 
enough to steal frnm the whites. 

We have already traced the early French set- 
tlements in our county and will now turn our 
attention to the others. 

William B. Thompson was the first known 
actual settler in \V("idl)nry cimnty; he came in 
September, is-tS. lie had previously lived in 
Morgan county, Illinois, where his wife died. 
He built a lug house near the Missouri river, 
between it and where the present railroad track 
runs, a short distance below the bluff on which 
Floyd's monument stands. He afterward en- 
tered the land on which it stood after it was 
surveyed by the government, his entry lieing 
the west half of Sduthwest nimrter, section 6, 



townshii) S8, range -±7, and lots S and 9, and 
the east half of southeast quarter, section 1, 
township 88, range 48, on September IS, 1854. 
He soon called his place Thompsontown, and 
attempted to file a plat of part of it, calling it 
Floyd's Bluff, but when it came to early legis- 
lati\-e action for a cimnty seat it was' named 
as "Sergeants Bluft," the name being given be- 
fore Thompson had anything but a squatter's 
title to the land. Llis place is still known as 
"Tliompson's Grove." 

His brother, Charles C Thompson, came 
later that year and sjient the winter of 1848 
and 1849 with him, they being undoubtedly the 
only white men to spend that winter in this 
county. Charles C. Thompson took a claim 
next south of his brother on the northeast quar- 
ter of section 12, township 88, range 48, and 
next north of Traversie's, and he had a small 
caliiu (in his place later. Charles moved to 
Monona county, but Bill Thompson, as he was 
always called, remained in Woodbury county 
till his death. He did not marry again until 
many years later. He, to some extent, kept a 
trading post or store at his house. 

In those days his house was a stopping place 
for the American travelers and early immi- 
grants, for he did not lack in hos])itality and 
good fellowshi]!. He preceded the advent of 
legal, civil government in the county, and al- 
ways liail a supreme conteni])t for courts, laws, 
sheriff's, and, in fact, anything that interfered 
with his personal inclinations. He was hardly 
calculated to Imild np a pioneer connnunity, 
even though be was its founder. His town 
never progressed lieymid tlie one house he Iniilt. 
Thompson was a tall, well lu-oportioned man, 
ordinarily of good temper, and kind hearted, 
but alisolutely fearless and des])erate when in 
anger. When the railroad A\-as laid out through 
his land he would order off' the surveyors, and 
when the appraisers came to assess the damages 
he told them he had sold three lots there to 
widows and orphans in the east, and B — G — d 
he would iiroteet their riii'hts. Tlie advent of 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



7S1 



a sheriff with a paper to serve was the occasion 
for a barricade, with a shot gnu for defense, 
and he figured in the courts in tlie early days. 

The first Icnown murder in the county was 
■ committed !.)y Thompson, and as it illustrates 
the nuin and the times, it may be l)est to record 
tlie event here from the best evidence obtain- 
able. The date is not certain, but most likely 
aliout the time of the organization of the county 
in 1853; it may have been shortly before that. 
There was a dance at Francis La Charite's 
liouse, and the people of the vicinity assembled 
there, French Indians, half bloods, and some 
Americans. Amnng tlie latter were an Indian 
agent named Xorwood and Bill Thompson, 
as usual in those days on such occasions, wliisky 
was the chief beverage, and all partook freely. 
The accdunts published of what took place are 
from rec<illections of persons who have heard 
tiie story told, and they vary in some parti- 
culars. 

It set'uis that the man Xorwood wore a wig, 
aud I'li<inii)S(in was dancing with a handsome 
part bloixl Indian girl, Sophia Menard, a sis- 
ter of the wife of Joseph Leonnais, and who 
soon afterward married (^has. Rulo. Her name 
like other French ones, being missj^elled A\'hen 
written from sound, has^ been taken down as 
Shapa Manok in interviews with old Mrs. 
Sangster, but she also gives the name of 
Leonnais' wife in the same interview as Rosa- 
lie ilanor as taken down by the interviewer. 
I'he Indian agent it is said had become rather 
jealous of Tlioni))Son's attentions to the girl, 
and the latter, in a spirit of fun, and to bring 
ridicule im Xorwood snatched the wig from his 
Iii'ad and held it aloft in his hand for the 
amusement of the dancers. Xoi-wood was angry 
and drawing liis knife made a slash with it at 
Thomjjson, inflicting a slight wound in his 
stomach. Thomi)Son was aroused, and strode 
out of tlie hmise north toward his own home 
nearly a mile aw;iy. The company knew some 
vengeance was meditated, and Xorwood, now 
thoroughlv alarmed, realizing what he had done 



started up the road either to escape or to apolo- 
gize. He shortly met Thomjjson coming back 
with a rifle in his hand, and got down on his 
knees begging for mercy, but Thompson in- 
stantly sti'uck him over the head with his rifle, 
crushing his skull and causing almost instant 
death. Xo immediate steps were taken for the 
])unishment of Thompson, and he contimied his 
usual course till the time came when a court 
was established. It wotild seem, however, that 
for jtidicial purposes Woodbury county was 
thought to be subject to the courts in Pottawat- 
tamie coimty until some court was held in 
AVoodbury county. At the session of the legis- 
lature creating Woodbury county an act was 
passed January 23, 18.53, ordering court to be 
held in W<iodbury county on the third Monday 
in July, l)ut the county was not organized in 
time that year, and the first term of court was 
not held till September 3, 1855, when it was 
convened at Traversie's house, most persons 
state, and the first entry on the first page of the 
District Court record is District Court record 
A, i:)age 1, Sej^t. .3, 1855: "At the September 
term, begun and held in Woodbury county, 
State of Iowa ; ])resent lion. Samuel II. Riddle, 
Judge; J. K. :\lyers. Clerk; F. Chapel, Sher- 
ifl"."' Evidently the clerk was one temporarily 
appointed, as the first business of the court was 
to order an information filed against Theo])hile 
Bruguier for wilful neglect of duty. Probably 
he was tfio busy to take the time to attend court. 
I'he next entry ajtpears as follows: 

State of Iowa ] 

vs. >• ]\Ianslaughter. 

W. E. Thompson ) 

Motion by prosecuting attorney to send case 
back to Pottawattamie county. Overruled. 

It would thus ap])ear from the entry that 
prior to this something had been done to make 
a case of it in the other county, for there is no 
record of a grand jury meeting at this time. 
It starts in the records here as a case ready for 
trial. 



782 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



Till' record follows that clofcndaiit appeared, 
(Icmaiiilcd a spct'ilv trial ami a jury, and a jury 
was ordered to ajijiear "tomorrow morning at 
1» a. ni." M. F. J\Ioore was prosecuting attor- 
ney, and Horace C. Bacon, an attorney licensed 
in New Hampshire, was admitted to practice. 
The court adjourned till next day, Avhen this 
case came up ; the prisoner was arraigned and 
pleaded not guilty. Horace C. Bacon appeared 
in fact as his attorney. The jurors were Sam- 
uel H. Cassady, Richie, Gdorge Cham- 
berlain, Huddleston, Fitzpatrick, I. 

Clark. H. D. Clai-k, John Simmons, John Sam- 
uels, A. W. Craven, I. F. Turner and 

Eowe. Defendant objected to introducing wit- 
nesses on the part of the state whose names 
were not endorsed on the back of the indict- 
ment. This objection was sustained by the 
court, and as there were not names of persons 
so endorsed who saw the killing, there could be 
no evidence, and the court ordered a nolle to be 
entered and defendant required to give bond 
of $1,000 to await action of the grand jury at 
(lio iiexi term. Henry Ayotte signed the bond. 

This is in brief the record of the mistrial, but 
the story as told by Horace C. Bacon, the pris- 
oner's attorney, will illnstratc the times and the 
men. 

Mr. Bacon had just arrived in Sioux City 
and one morning saw a lumber wagon and a 
numlier of men, among them Frank Chapel, 
the sheriff, who asked him if he was going down 
to court. He was surjn-ised that there was any- 
thing for a con It fo do. They invited him to 
go with them, and he concluded to do so. There 
had been rain the night before and the roads 
were muddy. The sheriff was dressed in a full 
snit of bnckskin ami liad his moccasins tied to 
his belt, going barefoot. Tlicy drove, as Judge 
Wakefield, to wlmm Colonel IJacon related this 
part recollects, to Traversie's place, where court 
was held. It was a log cabin, and the door had 
been taken oft' to make a table for the Judge 
and clerk. The Judge instructed court to be 
opeiieil, and the barefooted sheriff dnl\' an- 



nounced that conrt was opcne(l. Thompson's 
case was called and he was asked if lie had an 
attorney. Thompson said no, but he imder- 
stood there was an attorney there, and he would 
have him, and walking over to Mr. Bacon asked 
him to aj^pear, which he consented to do, though 
he knew nothing about the case. 

The Judge asked ThomiDSon if he was ready 
for trial, and he instantly replied, "Yes, and 
I want to be tried pretty G — d d — m quick." 
Some one, probably Attorney A. C. Ford, whis- 
pered to Colonel Bacon, who had come up from 
Coiuicil Bluff's, that they could not introduce 
any witness whose name was not on the back 
of the indictment, and at the proper time, when 
the state offered a witness, he made objection 
and the court sustained it. The district attor- 
ney asked for leave to enter a "nol. pros." Ba- 
con objected, as he wanted to get a verdict of 
not guilty and end it, but Thompson called out, 
"Let them dismiss it," and it was so done. 

Thompson straightened himself to his full 
height in the presence of the court and walked 
out of the room without saying a word to any 
one, with an air that the whole proceeding from 
the murder down had been one in which he was 
in the right, and he <lid not I'ven thank his at- 
torney or off'er to jiay him, and Colonel Bacon 
used to say that all he got for his services was 
a swig out of the Judge's bottle behind the 
cabin after the trial was over, to steady his 
nerves. 

Thom2>son was indicted at the next (April) 
term, held at Sioux City after the removal of 
the county seat there, but the case was taken 
to Harrison county and set for trial. Judge 
Riddle there presiding, and the reports came 
to the Judge that Thompson had made threats 
that no judge slionld try him, intimating vio- 
lence. As .Indge Riddle was starting from 
Council Jilntfs to hold this term of court in 
Harrison county lie talked with Judge Lari- 
mer, now of Sioux City, and telling him of 
these re]iorts of what Thompson had said, re- 
markei] : "I shall treat him perfectly right, but 



PAST AND PEESENT OE WOODBURY COUNTY 



783 



if he crooks a finger I will kill him," and lie 
was prepared to do it. For some reason, prob- 
ably fmni lack of witnesses, the case was dis- 
missed. 

Judge Riddle was a product of the period, 
able to cope with such characters, a Kentuekian 
by birth. He migrated to Missoiiri, where lie 
kept a store. A man there claiming he liad 
been wronged by him, came into the store and 
commenced assault upon Riddle, who drew his 
pistol and shot his assailant. He was indicted, 
gave bonds, was tried and acquitted, and soon 
moved to Council Bluffs. In Ajjril, 1853, he 
was elected Judge, but never having studied 
law or been admitted to the bar, was not eligi- 
ble under the law, and was not given a cer- 
tificate of election; one was also refused to his 
opponent, and it is reported he soon, at a term 
of court, was admitted to the bar in that easy 
way known to primitive days, over an oyster 
sup]>er, and was appointed by Governor Hemp- 
stead in June, 1853, to fill the vacant judge- 
shiji. Then he studied law and l)ecame a vei'y 
able judge. 

This trial and transfer to Harrison county 
was a source of large expense to Woodliury 
county. 

To return to "Bill" Thompson, it is related 
that on one occasion when Charles Rulo had 
taken too much whisky, and had some trouble 
with him in front of a trading post or saloon 
that stood in front of Traversie's place, Rulo, 
who was quick and active, struck Tliorapson in 
the niDUth, knocking onf a cijujile nf Icctli. 
Thonipsrin instantly reached over and gral)l)ed 
Rulo Ijy tlie hair and, as they expressed it in 
those days, just churned Rulo up and down on 
the ground, and then put his feet on him, as a 
wild animal might shake its prey, and there 
was no fight left in Rulo. 

The Indians and every one were afraid to 
have any trouble with Thompson. On one oc- 
casion some traveling Indians stole one of his 
horses; they were camped on the bluffs north of 
him. TlKimjison, missing liis liorse, suspected 



the parties, and took his rifle and went alone 
into their camp and walked oft' with his horse 
without a thought of fear, though the party was 
a large one. 

Robert Perry was one of the earliest settlers 
in the Avest end of the county; pi-evious his- 
tories have given the fall of 1849 as the date of 
his arrival. He built a shanty on the west side 
of Perry Creek, which is named after him. It 
was located just about where the West Seventh 
street bridge crosses, and it was just above him 
that the trail or traveled road then crossed this 
stream. This crossing was no doubt ado])ted 
from tlic fact that tlic buffalo had woim down 
tlie banks in their crossing there. This buf- 
falo trail was a well worn and defined land- 
mark for many years, and perhaps on unculti- 
vated ground it can be traced yet. It started 
at the Missouri river, just west of Prospect 
Hill, that probably being then near the mouth 
of the Big Sioux was a favorable ]ioint for 
crossing the river. It then ran northeast 
across Perry creek at about Ninth street, and 
over the west side of the hill, now leveled, 
where Epiphany Cathedral stands at Tenth and 
Douglas streets, crossing Pierce street at about 
Eleventh street and going past west of the 
High School ground, and over east of St. Jo- 
seph Hospital, and just west of the Springdale 
Brick Yards, crossing the Floyd just above 
Leeds, and on through to Spirit Lake. 

Perry was said to have been a young man, 
well educated, from Washington, D. C, some- 
what eccentric. He cultivated a small piece 
of ground and bad a log shanty, and ])robably 
did not have mucli in common Avith his French 
and Indian neighl)ors. Bruguier got the In- 
dians to scare him away. He stayed over a year 
after Leonnais bought his place at the nifiuth 
of Perry creek, which was in 1852. He sold 
his cabin and crops to Leonnais and went south, 
dragging his belongings behind his pony on a 
pole "travaillc," most likely in 18,")3. The 
date <if liis dcpartin-c is more certain than that 
of his arri\-al, as the former is fixed 1)V Leon- 



784 



PAST AXI) PRESRXT OF WOODBrEY COrXTY 



nais" vt'vv definite statement, and as he appears 
to havi' been known only by the Frencli, his 
description is derived from them. A man by 
the name of Robert Perry for a short time in 
the spring of 1856 stopped near where the town 
of ('hert)kee now is, bnt, finding it too lonesome, 
left, and that s])riiig' was in Sionx City. Carl- 
ton Corbett, on his way from tlie east, saw 
him there and Perry told him what a fine 
comitry there was about Cherokee. .V visit 
there confirmed Perry's report, which led to 
a settlement at that place. It may be that 
Perry returned to onr midst, and at so early a 
date after his departure that his return was not 
considered of any special moment, and only so 
now when we consider that nothing is known 
of the first settler in the center of Sionx City. 

J. M. Townsley, more commonly known as 
Marshall Townsley, came to tliis connty abont 
Angnst 1, 18.53, the day Axlien the first election 
was held and the connty organized. He was 
an acqnaintance of Thomas L. Griffey, the 
organizing sheriff, and probably followed him 
from Conncil Bluffs. He was a late arrival at 
Thompson's house on tln^ day of the election 
and was elected a connty judge, the chief office, 
and was a nmn of cousideral)le al)ility. He 
shortly after this bought out the claim of 
Giiieseppe ilarivelli (Joe Spaniard) and moved 
on it. It was about half a mile east of Traver- 
sie's, under the bluff, and for a time became a 
sort of American headquarters, as he had a 
family, and he was an important figure in local 
history for several years and then went west. 

It is doidjtfnl whether there were any more 
hoTises or settlers in the Avest end of the county 
in 18.r>3. Bruguier had a partly completed 
caliin on his land west of Salix the next year, 
l)ut used it only for a tem2:)orary residence 
when he cultivated his land there. It was prob- 
ably built in 1853. 

Leonard Bates, with a party of government 
surveyors, came to this locality August 8, 185l', 
for the purpose of running the six-mile town- 
ship lines between the Big Sioux and Little 



Siiiux rivers fmm the correction line north to 
the state line, tliis correction line having been 
theretofore run between townships 88 and 89. 
This party was in charge of the L'nited States 
Department Surveyor, or ilr. Alexander .\n- 
derson, who for years owned land in ^Vood- 
bury township. His son, James !M. Anderson, 
Leonard Bates, Ivy Johnsou, John Coon, Jon- 
athan Vincent, John Garnet, and probably 
others, whose names I can not learn, were in the 
party. Some of them later became settlers. 
Surveying the land was the first step in get- 
ting it opened to settlemoit, and this surveying 
the township lines preceded the subdividing it 
into sections, which the latter sixrveyors did. 
]\[r. Anderson also subdivided several town- 
ships. 

This surveying party, with wliieli ]Mr. Leo- 
nard Bates was connected, met with several 
calamities. ^Yhile they w'ere surveying up in 
Sioux county a large jirairie fire was seen ap- 
proaching rapidly, and the party scattered; 
some reached the high ground where the grass 
was thin and got off with a slight singeing, ilr. 
Bates anil two others went into a wet slough, 
and Air. Bates ])ut his coat over his head, lay 
fiat and kept still, and the other two raised their 
heads and inhaled the hot air as the flame went 
over them, and one (d' them, a son id' Air. An- 
derson, died from the effects, but the otiier re- 
covered. 

This jtarty, while subdividing township 89, 
range -f7, was coming down what we now call 
Dead Alan's Run and canqied for the night. 
In the morning when John Coon, after the 
wagon started, attempted to get his gun out of 
the wagon, it went off, killing a comrade. Ivy 
Johnson. Tliey liuried the budy near by, north- 
west of Glen Ellen station on the Alilwankee 
road, just northeast of tjie home of E. P. 
Welister, on land now owned by him, and Air. 
Anderson thought so niTich of the man killed 
that he sent to Council Bluffs and had a marble 
slab erected over his grave, which is now broken 
and lies on tlie iiround, inscribed : 



PAST AXD PrtESEXT OF WOODBURY fOT'XTY 



785 



"In Memory of Ivy Johuson, 
Killed by John Coon, Oct. 18, 
1852, aged 20 years." 

Mr. Anderson narrated these facts to Mr. E. 
P. Wehstcr and emphasized his belief that the 
sluioting may imt have been accidental and the 
inscripti<.)u on the toml)stone insinuates as 
much. The party had camped the night before 
near where the shooting ocenrred, and Coon, 
who was a ^lornKni, had a heated argument 
with Johnson o\'er that religion, in which 
(_'oon got very angry, and there was bad blood 
between them, hence the susjjicioii. It was 
before any law was in force, and nothing was 
done. It was from this circumstance that this 
stream has been called Dead Man's Rnn. 

In this matter of the killing of Ivy Johnson 
Mr. Anderson made mention of the circnm- 
stances in bis iield notes of the survey. In 
naming his chain men, he writes "Ivy Johnson, 
dead," and in the work of October 11, 1852, 
he says, "Set qr. post between sects. 15 and 22 
(Ivy Johnson's grave), from qr. post bears 
S75^° west offset north Hi west (interlined 
over east) 5 chains bears S67^° west." And 
at beginning of notes to work of October 12, 
between two black lines of mourning, he writes: 

Ivy Johnsnu, one of my men, was acci- 
dentally shot yesterday and died almost in- 
stantly. 

I.ciinar<l Dates was horn in Wiiidsdr cdunty, 
X'criiKiiit, al)out 1830, and had come west with 
bis fatliei- when about eight years old to Mont- 
gomery ciMinty, Indiana, and almut seven years 
later to lilack Hawk county, Iowa, and then 
to Greene county. He was with this survey- 
ing party in 1852 and 185.3, and lieing a single 
man probably did nnt reside on a farm of his 
fiwn. but made his headquarters at Townslcy's 
in lS,"i4, so might be entitled to claim 1852 as 
his year of settlement, and was identified with 
the county for several years and then for many 
years resided across the river in Dakota coxmty. 



Xebraska, moving to Sioux ('ity and marrying 
for his second wife the widow of Dr. J. 1). ^[. 
Ci'ockwell, a ])ioneer of 1854. They now reside 
in Los Angeles, California. ^Ir. Leonard 
Bates Avas county treasurer and recorder in 
185-1, but was not jiresent at the first election 
in August, 1853, being jirobably out with a sur- 
veying jiarty. 

Hiram Xelson came in 1853 and was in the 
county early enoTigh to vote at the first election 
and take the office of treasurer and recorder. 
He was then a single man and made his home 
with August Traversie, and later with Judge 
Townsley. He afterward marrie(l Julia 
Townsley, a daughter of the county judge. 
When Sioux ( 'ity was started he took a claim on 
the soutliAvest quarter, section 27, township 81), 
range -17, entered it and platted it as Central 
Sioux City. He probably had a shanty on this 
land in 1854, as there was one standing there 
tlien. He afterward went to Washington Ter- 
ritory and died there. 

One George L. Gilbert signed the bond of 
Hiram Xelson as county treasurer Augmst 30, 
1853, and must have been here then, l)ut prob- 
ably did not remain long. 

Josejih P. Babbitt was the first clerk of 
the courts, but di<l not remain Imig in the 
county. He nuiy have been here tenqiorarily, 
but is not spoken of later. 

We have traced the white settlement at the 
west end of the county down through 1853 
and incidentally followed some of the French 
to a later period, and will now take up the 
east end of the coiuify do^Mi to that time. 

Tlie settlement in llie vicinity of Smithland 
was along the Little Sioux and was almost as 
early as that of the west end of the county. 
The jnoneers wei-e mostly ^Mormons, some ol 
those of that faith who had not followed Brig- 
ham Young to Utah, or were apostates from the 
polygamists, coming here from about Ivanes- 
ville, Iowa. 

Curtis Lamb left this latter place in Janu- 
ary, 1851, on an exploring expedition and came 



786 



PAST AND PRESENT OP WOODBUKY COUNTY 



up the JMissouri to the mouth of the Little 
Sioux, then up that stream to a point above 
the present town of Smithhiud about two miles, 
where he selected a place for home and re- 
turned to Kanesville, got his family eifects to- 
gether, and with his wife and four children 
made the journey to his new home, arriving 
there May 5, 1851. 

He found on reaching the present site of 
Smithland that William Maxwell and W. S. 
White had reached there and settled two weeks 
before. They were all three Mormons, and 
probably acquaintances. They all built houses 
and commenced to cultivate land. We will give 
right here some further account of Mr. Lamb. 

He was one of the organizers of the county, 
attended the first election and, as he expressed 
it, Thomas L. Griffey and Marshall Townsley 
came up from Council Bluffs to help organize 
the county and, agreeing to become citizens, 
were given an office apiece. 

Mr. Lamb, after Sioux City was organized, 
kept a hotel, then the Pacific House, in 1857, 
but returned to his home on the Little Sioux 
and lived there many years. He removed to 
Plainview, Nebraska, and is still living with 
his wife at Grundy Center, Iowa, was eighty- 
five years old in ISTovember, l'J03. They had 
twelve children. 

When they arrived in Woodbury county the 
land was not surveyed, but he says Mr. Ander- 
son surveyed the township next year and that 
J. W. Ross subdivided it in the years of 1852 
and 1853. When he first came to this county 
the Indians were his near neighboi's, and he was 
on friendly terms with Chief luk-pa-du-a-ta and 
his l)and, who were afterward guilty of the 
Spirit Lake massacre. 

William MaxAvell in about a year, or in 1852, 
sold his claim to Josiah Sumner. 

In the fall of 1852 Orrin B. Smith, his 
brother Edwin M. Smith and John Hurley, 
Mormons fi'om Kanesville, came on a hunting 
expedition up the Little Sioux and were sur- 
prised to find these three men, Lnnib, White 



and Sumner, settled there. They stopped with 
Sumner a short time, then went on up the Lit- 
tle Sioux river. On their return Orrin B. 
Smith was so impressed with the place where 
Sumner had squatted that he offered him one 
hundred dollars in gold for the two claims he 
had squatted on, and Sumner, accepting the 
offer, Smith took possession and Simmer left. 
O. B. Smith soon went to Council Bluffs, sold 
one of his claims to Eli Lee, and the latter 
came up with his family in February, 1853, 
and O. B. Smith, with his family, soon moved 
up, so what was then called the W^hite settle- 
ment in the spring of 1853 consisted of five 
men, with the families of at least three of them. 

In the same year, but probably not until after 
the organization of the county in August, 
others came to the Smithland settlement, 
among them William Turman, John McCauley 
and John Turman. Of these settlers prior to 
1853 two are yet living, Curtis Lamb, as before 
stated, and Eli Lee, who still lives in Wood- 
bury county. Mv. White remained several 
years, and in 1853 was granted a ferry license 
across the Little Sioux. He moved to Monona 
cotuity and was drowned in Silver lake there. 

( ). B. Smith later platted the town of Smith- 
land, was prominent in county affairs, and with 
some absences lived many years about Smith- 
land, finally moved away and has since died. 

Ed M. Smith moved to Colton Creek, Colo- 
rado, and was alive in 1800. 

William Turman and Isaac Turman lived 
many years and died in this coitnty, leaving 
families. We have not enumerated the chil- 
dren of these early settlers, many of whom 
grew u]) and became prominent citizens. 

Wo iiave named as near as we could learn 
all the settlers, including those of the year of 
1853. There may be some omitted, especially 
those who might have visited the county that 
year and decided to locate and return the next 
year. 

Many of the details of the legal steps in the 
oriranization of tlie conntv are laekinix, as the 



PAST AND PEESEXT OF WOODBrRY COFXTY 



?87 



record of it was probably kept on sheets of 
paper or some blank book and not recorded in 
the official record book of the county judge, 
IVir that official had no book then, and one was 
not probably obtained for several months, and 
the present minute hook No. 1 has the ajjpear- 
ance of having been written up a year or more 
afterward, all in unt' handwriting, and as if 
copied in. 

The first entry is on i^age 1, copied evidently 
fr(im the records of Pottawattamie county and 
relates to the location of the county seat, dated 
July 18, 1853. The next entry is on page 3 
and under date of January 27, 1854, allowing 
Thomas L. Griffey $18.50 as commissioner in 
locating the county seat, and here follow en- 
tries allowing claims for the other count}' seat 
commissioner, $5.00 to the organizing sheriff, 
and salaries of county officers, and approving 
bunds of the officers elected then and the next 
sinnmer and down to October, 1855; then on 
page G it returns to date of August 1, 1853, 
when O. B. Smith gave bond as county attor- 
ney, and again on through 185-1 to February, 
1855, on page 8, from which jolace it takes up 
the record from the fall of 1855. It woidd 
seem from these records that fnim the liegin- 
ning down through the year 1855 they were 
co])ied into this book from other books or pa- 
pers that are now lost, and were not arranged or 
copied according to dates, and some of the pa- 
pers may have been lost without being recorded. 

By the act of the legislature passed January 
1, 1853, three commissioners named were ap- 
pointed to locate the county seat, and two of 
the three appointed met within the time speci- 
fied, located the county seat and made their re- 
port, which is as follows: 

"Minute Book 1, page 2. 

Sergeants Bluff. 

Woodbury County, State of Iowa. 

To the organizing sheriff of said county: — 
We have fixed upon the southeast quarter of 
section 1, township eighty-eight (88), north of 
range forty-eight (48), west of 5th P. M. as a 



point for the seat of justice for the aforesaid 
county of Woodbury, and set a stake on the 
avenue running east and west between lots 
number one hundred and thirty-one (131) and 
ninety-seven (97), as laid down on Thomp- 
son's plat of the town of Floyds Bluff in said 
comity, and recorded in the recorder's office of 
Pottawattamie county, Iowa, this 18th day of 
July, 1853. 

Thomas L. Gkiffey, 
Iea Peejue, 

Commissioners." 

The names as jDrinted in the legislative act 
wer^ Thomas L. Griffith and Ira Perdue, but as 
signed to this certificate the names were 
Thomas L. Griffey and Ira Perjue. These 
were no doiibt the persons intended in the act, 
and a small difference in spelling a man's name 
could not stop the birth of this county. 

The organizing sheriff was named in the 
act in the same way as Thomas L. Griffith. 
He no doubt gave the ten days' notice of the 
first election to be held August 1, 1853, at 
Sergeants Bluff as required by the law, and 
was himself on hand to hold the election, 
liringing with him from Council Bhiffs 
^larshall Townsley, and perhaps others who 
contemplated settling in the new county. The 
five men from the White settlement, as it was 
then called, known later as the Smith settle- 
ment, developing finally into Smithland, started 
the day before, as one of them described it, 
\vitli their rifles on their backs. It was a hot 
day's walk ; they followed an Indian trail along 
the Missouri bottom, under the bluffs, finishing 
the day at Traversie's, near the Missouri river, 
where they were welcomed with true Canadian 
hospitality. His squaw prepared them a sup- 
per, consisting of a stew of dried elk meat, 
highly seasoned with garlic, corn cakes and 
splendid coffee, food which hungry, tired, 
jaded men at least could appreciate. In due 
time they retired and slept, notwithstanding 
the fleas that visited them. 



7.SS 



PAST A\I) TKESKXT OF \V( )i >I)1;L1;Y COl'-XTY 



111 the nioniiiig after breakfasting with 
Traversie, they went up to the eoiinty seat at 
"Bill" Thompsen's, meeting there Williaui B. 
Thunipson, ('harles C Thompson, Iliram JS'el- 
son, Thomas L. Griffey, the organizing sheriff, 
and Marshall Townsley, who, with his family, 
it was said, had arrived that morning from 
Council Bluffs. There were others present in 
the course of the day to vote. They were intro- 
duced round in true western way with corn 
juice, pipes and tobacco, as one of them says. 

There were, it is said, seventeen votes cast 
at this tirst organizing election. A small ma- 
jority of these were Americans. The organ- 
izing sheriff was authorized to swear in the 
election officers and those who were elected. 
The election officers were: 

Jttdges of Election, Joseph !Merivall, Charles 
Rulo and William B. Thompson. 

Clerks of Election, Edwin }>[. Smith and 
Orrin Smith. 

County officers elected were as follows: 

County Jtidge, ^Marshall Townsley. 

District Clerk, Joseph P. Babbitt. 

Prosectiting Attorney, Orrin B. Smith. 

Coroner, Eli Lee. 

Treasurer and Recorder, Hiram Xelson. 

Xo sheriff' was elected, as Thomas L. Grif- 
fey being organizing sheriff' was asstimed to 
contintie in office. There was hut one township 
in the county, and they elected Curtis Lamb 
justice of the peace and Ed M. Smith constable. 

It has been said that these seventeen votes 
cast at this election were those eniimerated 
above, who were election officers or elected to 
office, as well as William B. Thompson, at 
whose house the election was held, so the 
voters were : 

1 — Marshall Townsley. 

2 — Thomas L. Griffey. 

3— Orrin B. Smith. 

4— Eli Lee. 

5 — Curtis Lamb. 

6 — Hiram Xelson. 

7 — Edwin ^r. Smith. 



S — Joseph P. Babbitt. 
I) — Joseph Alarrival. 

Ill — Charles Rtdo. 

11 — William B. Thompson. 

12— William S. White. 

And besides these there were, as one who 
voted recollected, the following other voters : 

13 — Theophile Bruguier. 

14 — Stephens DeRoi. 

15 — Josej)h Leonnais. 
and one other Frenchman, either L. Francis La 
Charite, Francis Bercier or Elie Bedard, who 
then lived in the settlement. The Frenchmen 
had not all lieen naturalized then. 

So Woodbury county was organized, but it 
had no books or records and no money in the 
treasury, and no taxable lands, as none had 
been entered from the L^nited States, and the 
amount of personal property was small. The 
nuichinerv of county government was installed 
and ready to be started, and the time had ar- 
rived when land would soon come into market 
and new settlers could be invited to come in. 

The year 1854 brought numerous accessions 
to the new Woodbury county colony, though 
at the beginning of the year it does not appear 
there were large numbers. At the township 
election in Ajjril there were fotirteen votes 
cast, and William S. ^Tiite, Stephen Devoy 
(DeRoi) and R. Hazzard were elected tovrn- 
shiji trustees, Hazzard evidently being a new 
comer. He worked for Bill Thompson and is 
said to have been a wild, reckless fellow, a 
wrestler and fighter. He went to Denver, Colo- 
rado, and worked there as a miner. Leonard 
Bates was elected to^\^lship clerk, and William 
B. Thompson assessor. The township, con- 
sisting of the whole county, was called Sergeant 
Bluff township, and it wottld appear that 
later in the year a voting precinct on the Lit- 
tle Sioux was created, as at the state election 
held .\ugtist 7, 1854, nine votes were cast in 
that jirecinct at the jiolling place, which was 
the house of Curtis Lamb, so that that settle- 
ment had increased. Amone; the names of the 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODBUEY COITXTY 



789 



nc'-w ones there was proljal)ly that of M. L. 
Jones, who was most of the time that year at 
the west end of the connty, and there also 
came that year to the Little Sioux John B. 
Pierce, Josejih Bowers, Thomas Bowers, iVlvah 
Korth, James McDonald, Martin Metcalf, and 
one or two others. Many of these remained 
many years. Metcalf was a Methodist exhorter 
and probalily was the first person to conduct 
religious services in the county. Ira Price 
came to the settlement late in lS5i or early the 
next year, but went to Nebraska in 1856. O. 
Plato came to the Little Sioux Valley that year 
and still resides there and is entitled to rank as 
the oldest attorney in the county. 

The valley of the Little Sioux was a most 
attractive region and that part of it abotat 
Smithland was particularly beautiful and satis- 
fied every sense with its beauty. The river 
wended its way through the fertile bi)ttom 
land, skirted with timber, with an occasional 
large grove extending to the bluft"s on rhe west 
and up their sides. It was, and still is, a sort 
of earthly paradise, and it is no wonder the 
first settlement was made at Smithland. It 
was at first an isolated spot, a long distance 
from the base of supplies. Council Bluffs, and 
the early pioneer had to undergo many hard- 
ships and privations before he could settle 
down to the real comforts of life. To be sure, 
game was abundant, but it took time to raise 
the crops and procure the other needed house- 
hold supplies. 

At the west end of the county there was con- 
siderable activity, new settlers came in who 
wished to get land for a home, and then those 
who had the fever for a town site. It cotild 
not l)e otherwise than that every one should 
feel tliat some time in the near future a town 
would grow uji somewhere on the ]\rissouri 
river in the county where the bluffs came near 
to the river. 

Dr. John K. ( "ook and his jiarty of surveyors 
had finished subdividing the land in Sioux 
("ity in 1854, and these surveyors had made re- 



ports of the character of the soil, and many of 
them and their assistants were among the very 
early settlers. 

Leonard Bates that year built a log house 
for himself at the point of the bluft' just north 
of the town of Sergeants Bluffs, and he and 
his brother Gibson Bates, who came in August, 
1854-, built a log house for Dr. J. D. M. Crock- 
well in the south j^art of this town, and the 
Docti;>r witJi his family moved from Council 
Bluffs into this house in the fall of 1854; 
T. Ellwood Clark, whose wife was a sister of 
Crockwell's wife, came with him, and Clark 
started to build liis house that fall. They, 
with Kountz, later an Omaha banker, had been 
up earlier in that year, and had picked the 
place out as a town site, emjdoyed Leonard 
Bates to build their log house for $100.00 in 
gold, and emjdoyed Samtiel F. Watts and Eli- 
jah Iv. Robinson, surveyors, to stake out their 
town of Sergeants Bluffs, which was done that 
fall. Leonard Bates raised a croj) that year. 
They finally named the locality "Sergeants 
Bluff's City" to distinguish it in techinical 
name form "Bill" Thomiisdu's cnunty seat. 

John ^I. Cloud, a son-in-law of i[ar.shall 
Townsley, built a home that year south of Ser- 
gents Bluffs and raised something of a crop. 
M. L. Jones, then a single man, lived a part of 
the time with Cloud and part of the time with 
Judge Townsley. 

John M. Brown, a l>rother-in-law of Thomas 
L. Griffey, that year built a house south ol 
where Salix noAV is, about a mile north of Sand 
Hill Lake on section 2, township 86, range 47. 
The traveled road ran near the north end of this 
lake, and it was always a place where the teams 
on the Council Bluffs road turned in and water- 
ed. That winter Brown, his mother, wife and 
two daughters, and Thomas L. Griffey and 
wife. Brown's sister, spent the winter in that 
log house. Thomas L. Griffey was a good hun- 
ter and spent ]iart of that winter on the Little 
Sioux with Curtis Lamb, hunting deer and 
turkey. Bruguier had an unoccupied log 



■JOO 



PAST AXD PEESEXT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



caliiii on the bank of Sand Hill Lake on sec- 
tion 1(1, township 86, range 47. 

An anecdote is related of John ^l. Brown 
in connection with establishing his claim, 
which illustrates the fears of the new settler, 
and incidentally the disposition of this one: — 

Mr. Brown made up his mind to protect him- 
self from a possible invasion of the Indians, or 
other thieves, by building a stockade around his 
house and stable. He had cottonwoods cut 
and split about 14 feet long, and set close to- 
gether in the grounds. John himself was not 
much of a worker, so he got Morris L. Jones to 
build the stockade. John's mother was a 
sensible woman, and as she had watched the 
progress of the work, which was pretty slow, 
the ground being frozen hard, she came to the 
conclusion that it was labor lost, and expense 
for nothing, so she said to her son: "John, at 
the rate this work is lieing done, it will take till 
spring to finish it." "Mother," answered John, 
"If I knew Gabriel would toot his horn the 
minute I finished this wurk, I would finish it." 

We add a few names to the colony at Ser- 
geants Bluflfs City and south of there for this 
year 1854, of i^ersons who bought land that 
year, who probably visited that region, and 
went away, some becoming residents for a 
time. Later Marshall Turley had a contract 
for selecting the swamp land for the county. 
Lewis Cunningham was Clerk of the Cotirt. 
Samuel Brown, a relative of J. W. Brown, 
William Stewart, J. Z. Sttitsman, John Galler 
and Rupes Beal were there. The latter bought 
a large tract of laiul near Sloan on which he 
moved after the railroad came in, and was for 
many years a wealthy and influential citizen 
of the county. John Samuels came in 1854 
and entered land in Liberty township. He 
married a half blood Blackfoot girl. 

During the fall of 1854 besides the French 
and Americans already enumerated, others no 
doubt became settlers in the west end of the 
county. Samuel F. Watts, who with Dr. Cook 



had surveyed Sioux City township that year; 
Samuel Ruth, an assistant, and Elijah Eobin- 
sou, were at the new Sergeants Bluffs City that 
year, and Watts and Robinson surveyed this 
town site. 

Algernon S. Dtittou came in 1854, probably 
in the fall, held some township ofiice, entered 
40 acres of land and went to Pike's Peak in 
1859. 

R. E. Knox acted and drew pay that year as 
District Clerk, Lewis Cunningham acted as 
assessor and Sheriff, staying at Thompson's. 
He came from Council Bluffs and had been a 
county officer there. 

H. Slagar was a resident that year. 

R. E. Rowe was for a time that year Dis- 
trict Clerk. 

George W. Chamberlain also came with the 
surveying party and stayed. 

Joshua Clark was a settler that year and 
probably J. Samuels, also at the Sergeants 
Bluft"s colony. 

W. H. James came in the fall and was the 
first lawyer to settle in the county. He later 
went across the river, settled in Dakota County, 
N^ebraska, and was elected Secretary of State, 
and by the death of the Governor became 
acting Governor of !N^ebraska. 

John K. Cook also settled at Sioux City in 
the fall of 1854, after he had made his township 
siirvey, and came back to start his town. 

Luther AVoodford first came to the county 
in the fall of 1854. He was l)orn in Hartford 
county, Connecticut, in September, 1807, 
and after reaching his majority took up the 
proverbial calling of about half the young 
men of that state at that day, and became a 
clock peddler, working west by degrees. He 
was married in 1833, and later was at Agency 
City, in Wapello County, Iowa, as a merchant 
with his wife and children. He sold out there, 
and in 1854 started west with a team to look at 
the country, not knowing just where he would 
2.0. Reaching Council Bluffs he heard of the 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



791 



new settlement in Woodbury county, and drove 
up to Sergeants Bluffs, and finding a few set- 
tlers there, he decided to locate in that vicinity, 
selected a piece of land, and on his way back 
entered it in Council Bluffs, it being the west 
one half of southwest one quarter of section 31 
townshij) 88, range 47, and the east half of the 
southeast quarter of section 36, township 88, 
range -48. He entered also a inece of timber 
land. He sjient the winter in Wapello county 
with his family. 

In the early spring he started for this coun- 
ty with two yoke of oxen, one team of horses 
and three ^\'ag■ons, and with some household 
goods, house building and farming utensils. 
His oldest daughter, Almira P., with her hus- 
band, George Brassfield, and his oldest son, 
( 'liarles E. Woodford, then thirteen years old, 
and ilr. Henry Reams, since one of the promi- 
nent settlers of Dakota county, !N'ebraska, came 
with him, leaving the rest of his family behind. 
They reached Sergeants Bluffs in May and 
went to work to build their log house on the 
land he had bought the fall before ; a rough one 
of round logs chinked with mud, jjole, hay and 
dirt roof, jjuncheon floor, with the door and 
window casings hewed with a broadax. 

After this rough log house was done they 
started to build a regular hewed log house, 
l)ut when ])artly completed a Presbyterian min- 
ister came to the county, who offered Mr. Wood- 
ford $5.00 an acre for the land, and he sold it. 
He had another piece of land in view which 
he intended to enter at the landoflice at Council 
Bluffs on his way back after his family, but 
hearing one day that another man, H. O. 
Griggs, a new settler, was also after the same 
piece, and had already started on horseback 
to Coimcil Bluffs to enter it, he mounted his 
horse and followed in hot pursuit. 

The history of the west is full of stories of 
races for the landofSce to enter some tract of 
land, so we will complete the telling of this one. 
While Mr. Griggs was at dinner at George 
Murphy's hoiise, near where Sloan now is, Mr. 



Woodford passed him. At Ashton in Monona 
county, Griggs jjassed Mr. Woodford and 
pushed on to Larjienteur's, at the crossing of 
the Little Sioux, that night, having traveled 
nearly fifty miles that day. The next morn- 
ing early, Mr. Woodford, having traveled late 
and started early, again passed Griggs. They 
reached Council Bluffs that day about the same 
time. Each got a man to help him enter the 
piece of land he was after, and then found out 
they were after separate pieces. They were 
typical pioneers, quick to think and act, and 
both from the same Connecticut county. 

Mr. Woodford returned to Sergeants Bluffs 
and started to build a new double log house on 
this new piece of land, and the young son, C. 
11. ^^'oodford, broke five acres of ground. 

In the summer they went back with all the 
teams to Wapello county and loaded up the 
whole family, with its belongings, and a year's 
provisions, Mr. and Mrs. Brassfield, however, 
not coming with them. 

He hired two men to drive his teams, com- 
ing by way of Council Bluff's. They had this 
time four yoke of oxen, two horses and five 
cows, and a few chickens. The children at 
first drove the cows but they soon learned the 
ways of the journey and followed Avithout driv- 
ing. Then every one of them were taken sick 
with fever and ague on the journey. The 
son, Charles R., shook one day, and all the 
family the next. The people along the road 
were kind, and one old woman made them all 
some herb tea. They recovered from the ague 
about the time they reached their new home, 
and all went to work with vigor to complete 
the new house, finish well built sheds for the 
horses and cattle, and put up hay for the stock. 

There was a great influx of peoj)le that win- 
ter and from necessity they kept many travel- 
ers, as many as eighteen men on one night in 
that log house. Hay was a scarce article, and 
travelers tried to buy the hay on the roof of 
their house and stable, offering $20 a ton. 



792 



I'AS'r AM) I'KKSKXT OF WOODIUHY COUNTY 



This is a ivpical histdi-y nf luaiiy a settler's 
family migratiou to tins euuiitry. 

John ;M. Piuekiiev's father came a year or 
two with his family with an ox tt'am from 
iliehigan, wiuterini; on iIk' way. 

W. P. llojman eame that year, ISoj, from 
C'onuei'tieul, with his brother-(in-law, H. O. 
Griggs, coming tirst to Galena, 111., then from 
there to Ft. Dodge on horseliack, ami there 
liought a wagon. lie Ijninght along a hired 
man named Bronson, a earpenter, and a man 
named Pardy, and Dr. W. W. Ordway. who 
settled at Castana, Monona eonnty, came with 
the ]>arty. 

Samuel V. Watts and Thomas Robeson had 
jnst started a small steam saw mill at Ser- 
geants Elnffs. ami Mr. Hohnan. deciding to 
locate, nnide arrangements to l)nild a frame 
lionse for a hotel, and got the tirst Inmber sawed 
at this mill, the first in the county, and Bron- 
son tinished the li<inse during the late fall and 
winter, whih' Mr. llolman went back after his 
family. This hotel was (>ighteen feet by twen- 
ty-fonr feet, fourteen feet high, boarded np ami 
down, and the cracks battened with stri])s, and 
shingled with long thick shingles, all made 
from eottonwood. 

Sir. Holnnm sold o>it in Conneeticnt and ear- 
ly in Febrimry started shipping their honse- 
hold goods by rail to Iowa City. The railroad 
from Davenport to Iowa City was jnst com- 
pleted, the track was laid on the level i)rairie, 
and it took the train a whole afternoon to go 
that tifty-fi\-e miles, and the hoys, when flu>v 
got tired of riding, would jnm]i off ami run 
along behind ami jnmji on again. 

ilr. Holman had bought a wagon and team 
of horses in Chicago and shi])ped these, and 
bought four yoke of oxen at Iowa City, and 
they started from there to Sergeants Bluff's, W. 
P. llolman, his wife, an ado|>ted daughter, now 
:\lrs. .losei.h Graville, and three children, C. 
.1. llolman, aged sixteen, .\. ^1. Ilohnan, aged 
eleven, and daughter Ella, agccl live, now Airs. 
Gcor-e \V. AVaitt, and three hired men. The 



whole journey consumed twenty-three days. It 
t(.>ok them nine days to get from Council Bluff's 
to Sioux City. At the Little Sioux the rope 
ferry had washed out and they joined forces 
with Larpenteur, who kept the ferry, and Alec 
Garber, who was running the new stage line 
for the Western Stage Company from Coun- 
cil Bluffs, and cutting dry eottonwood logs 
nnide a raft, and with a new rope numaged to 
get ferri(Ml ovt'r. They stop]>ed at Ashton one 
night autl the next with George ^Inrphy and 
John Friedline, who kept a stage lu)use near 
Sloan. ]^r. John K. Cook and Jesse Williams, 
on their way to Siinix City, were fellow travel- 
ers along the road. They reached their house, 
now all completed, the next day and commenced 
keeping a hotel. 

At this time, which is the conuneucement 
of 1856, the only houses in Sergeants Bluffs 
were those of Dr. Crockwell, Lem Bates, T. 
Ellwood Clark, two Thomas Robinsons, Squire 
James and llolman. A postoftice had just been 
started with Lem Bates as postmaster. 

Woodford's farm was jnst below and the only- 
farm near, except a small piece of Dr. Crock- 
well's M-hich had been broken up. The most 
of the farming done that year was west of 
town in the weed land which was easily ctdti- 
vated. 

Early in 1855 a jietition had been presented 
to the county judge for the removal of the 
county seat from the original county seat at Bill 
Thompson's town of Sergeants Bluff's of one 
house to the new town of S(n-geants Bluffs, 
city of three or four houses, and it is said a 
vote was taken and tweuty-fotir votes were cast 
in favor of removal and none against it. 

The jietition is found in the minute book 
of the county judge, and reads as follows: 

Page !•. 

To the Honorable Orrin B. Smith, Comity 
Judge of Woodbury county: — We, the under- 
signed \-ot('rs of Woodbury county, ask an order 
for the election of the (]vnilified voters of said 
cotinty on the tirst AIiMiday of April, A. D. 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF AYOODBUEY COUXTY 



793 



1855, to elect whether the seat of justice of 
said county shall or shall uot be removed from 
Sergeants Bluffs to Sergeants Bluffs City. 
W. H. James A. S. Duttou 

John B. Pearce !M. Townsley 

William Turmau Hiram Salow 

Morris L. Jones Curtis I.anib 

J. Sherwood John Sanuiels 

A. Aruell J. P. Sherman 

John H. Simons Stephen Leroy 

James Martin George !M. ilills 

P. Lapplant J. D. M. Crockwell 

S. F. Watts Samuel Peck 

T. Elwood Clark John W. Brown 

Leonard Bates Charles Rulo 

H. Breckenridge B. Woren 

It contains the names presumably of most 
of the early settlers, and was probably circu- 
lated so early in the year that there were only 
a very few of the Sioux City promoters then 
at that place, and some contended that this pe- 
tition was never granted by the coimty judge, 
as there is no other record of it, except this 
petition. 

There does not appear to have been any 
act performed at Sergeants Bluffs City. WTien 
the first term of District Court was held, Sep- 
tember 3, 1855, it did not convene at Sergeants 
Bluffs City, as it would have done had it been 
the coimty seat, and early in 1856, before the 
removal of the county seat to Sioux City, the 
county judge held the session of the county 
court there, because there was no proper place 
at the county seat, which could not truthfully 
be said of Sergeants Bluffs City, unless the 
judge himself was prejudiced and wished to 
create a public sentiment in favor of the then 
contemplated petition to move it to Sioux City. 



To illustrate the way people were living in 
1S.")4:, it will be "f interest to quote from an 
interview with Mr. Gibson Bates, who came 
here that year, a young man of twenty years, 
and is yet residing in the coitnty, a prosperous 
and successful farmer. 



"I came from Greene coimty, Iowa, to Wood- 
bury county in August, 1854, to visit my 
brother, Leonard Bates, who was already here. 
I came on a pony by way of Cotincil Bluffs 
and up the Missouri bottom. The first stop 
I made in Woodbury county was at an Indian 
tepee just a short distance south of where 
August Traversie lived. There was an old 
buck and squaw there, and inquired the way 
to where my brother was. They could not 
understand, but pointed up north. They had 
supper ready, and as I started to go the old 
liuck stopped me and said, no, I must stay 
to supper. They seemed to think because I 
was a white man I must sit down to their table. 
They had a sort of biscuit made of flotir and 
water, and a little tea. I shall always recol- 
lect the tea. They would not sit down with 
me ; I must eat first. I asked them where 
Traversie lived, and they pointed up the road. 
When I got to Traversie's I inquired where 
my brother was, and they pointed east with 
their finger to where Townsley lived, which was 
near by. Traversie's wife was a squaw. They 
had several children around there, and their 
yard was full of Indians and sqtiaws. I do 
not know who they all belonged to. Lender the 
circumstances I did not inqtiire. 

I went to Towusley's and found my brother 
there and his wife and daughter. The next 
night there was a dance at Traversie's; they 
wanted I should go down and see it, and I was 
anxious to go and see how they performed, as 
I had never seen them dance. Traversie had 
a dotible log house with a kind of entry be- 
tween, an open room or place in the center, 
with a house at each end. I can recollect some 
of the persons who were there. Traversie, of 
course, was one. Bill Thompson, and later in 
the evening Charles Thompson, his brother, 
George W. Chamberlain, Dr. F. B. Wixon, a 
single man then, and a dai-k looking fellow by 
the name of Richard E. Rowe. There were 
in all about six or seven white men. I think 
Hiram Xelson was there also. These young 



704 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODBUKY COUXTY 



Americans -were all up there to see the sjjort, 
and there were several Frenchmen, besides the 
Indians. 

The dance would go on for about fifteen 
minutes, a couple of runs up and down tlie 
room, then a circle or two b_v the Indians, while 
we Americans looked on. They had no music, 
just kept singing "How, How, How." After 
thej had danced for some time, Traversie got 
his bottle of whiskey out, and was passing it 
around. When about half way round, Kowe, 
who was a big heavy fellow, who had a little 
half-pint ])ottle of whiskey in his pocket, could 
not wait until all the Indians had drunk out 
of the bottle, so he took his bottle out of his 
pocket, took a drink on the sly and slipped 
it back. Some one saw liim and told Tra- 
versie. This act of Eowe's was contrary to 
frontier French and Indian etiquette, and was 
as much as saying he would not drink with 
Traversie. 

Traversie was angry in an instant, and came 
jumping across to where Rowe stood, striking 
his hands together at every step, and talking 
loud, ready to fight Eowe. Bill Thompson at 
once stepped up beside Traversie, jumping 
up and striking his heels together and swear- 
ing. Every one was scared. Some ran under 
the bed, and anywhere they could get. We 
went across the room and expected to see a 
fight, and all flew out the door. After I got 
out I got up the side of the house. It was my 
first experience in that kind of a mixed com- 
pany. Thompson had killed a man not long 
before that. They were all afraid of him; 
but they gathered together around him, it soon 
subsided, and they went back to dancing. I 
advised the boys not to take any more private 
drinks out of their bottles. They kept up the 
dancing until daylight, l)ut we white peo]i]e left 
at midnight. 

Sioux City had not then been talked of. 
The next day after the dance I went up with 
some of the boys to see the country, the same 
ones went with me who were at the dance the 



night before. Bill Thompson's house was the 
county seat, and he and his brother lived in 
that one, and the other boys, Eowe, Chamber- 
lain and Wixon, "batched" in the house south, 
which I think was Charles Thompson's house. 
I ^\-ent past Floyd's grave. It Avas then pretty 
close to the river bank. I took my knife and 
split off a piece of the iiost. I then went up 
and along and across the Floyd. Some French- 
men had a boat there. The next place I went 
to was Jo Leonnais' house, near the month of 
Perry Creek, and I found Jo Leonnais and 
his wife there, but no other white man. It is 
my recollection that before we reached Leon- 
nais' house there were two sod cabins, one was 
close to the river some ways east from Leon- 
nais'. 

I went on, crossing Perry Creek somewhere 
above where Seventh street now is and then 
turned l)ack. I went south upon Prospect 
Hill. On the side of the hill was a dead squaw 
wrapped in blankets in the branches of a tree, 
and there were some fifteen or twenty dead In- 
dians besides, upon poles, some clear up on 
the highest point of Prospect Hill. 

We then went on to Bruguier's place, and 
got there about dinner time; there were six 
of us. Bruguier was at home, there were at 
least two squaws, and some boys, halfbreeds, 
about there. The dinner was set out in the 
middle of a dirt floor, and our boys jumped 
up and sat down in the dirt. The dinner was 
in a big kettle. It was some kind of soup. 
The boys with me tried to scare me by saying 
it was dog soup. I do not know what it was 
made of. I have never cared much for soup 
since. They dished it out in a big wooden 
ladle, and then ate it out of the ladle Avith 
big wooden spoons. I hesitated about sitting 
down, but I had to do as the rest did. The 
spoon was so large it would almost stick in 
youi' mouth. 

T tlieu went up the Sioux and out onto 
an island near where the Sioux In-idge stands, 
and went to a house near the bluflf. Paul Pa- 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF WOODBUEY COUXTY 



795 



qiic'tte lived there. They atarted a dauce thai 
night, but it was nut like the Indian dance I 
attended the night before, and tliev did not 
have a fight. Bill Thompson's was Frenchmen 
and Indians, bnt this was a French dance, and 
not an Indian one. We white men did not 
dance, bnt just looked on. We stayed there 
all night and slept on the ground, and the 
next (lay went back to Townslej-'s. Hiram 
Xelson married Julia Townsley after that. 

I helped my brother build his own house 
just north of what is now Sergeants Bluffs, 
south of J. Y. Kennedy's house, and I helped 
my brother build a house for Dr. J. D. ]\I. 
C'rockwell. There were the first and only 
houses in Sergeants Bluffs then. 

I went back to Greene county that fall, and 
in February, 1S55, my brother and I started 
back with our brothers and sisters, three boys 
and two girls. Four of us are yet living. We 
came by way of Ida Grove, where we camped 
over night, and were suddenly surrounded by 
Indians, who proved to be friendly, and de- 
parted as suddenly as they came, shouting^ 
''How, How, How." 

We came through Sniithland, where there 
were two or three houses. We moved into my 
brother's house. I took a piece of land which 
I still own. By the spring of 1855 Sioux City 
had started, and the rivalry between the two 
towns commenced. Before I left in the fall 
of 1854 they had started to survey the town of 
Sergeants Bluffs." 

To further illustrate the condition of the 
country in 1854 and 1855, we will quote from 
another old settler yet living, IMr. George Mur- 
phy, of Sioux City, who started from Dubuque, 
Iowa, with a companion named John Leavitt, 
with a single horse and buggy, to drive to the 
Missouri river. "We thought that sometime 
there would be a railroad from the east to this 
river, so we went to see the country. We took 
a rifle along to shoot game ; we took the mili- 
tary trail to Ft. Dodge. There we saw Gover- 
nor Carpenter, who told us there was a trail 



for six miles as far as the Lizzard, which we 
took, but that there was no trail after that. 
We camj^ed at Twin Lakes that night, then 
pushed on to Coon river, where we managed 
to get across by getting into the stream, and 
then going down and finding a place to get 
out, after taking the horse from the buggy 
and removing the wheels. At Boyer river we 
had to do pretty much the same thing. We 
came to the Maple river and crossed two or 
three little streams. We went to Ida Grove, 
but there was nothing but a grove there then, 
turned northwest and went to where Correc- 
tionville is now. Before night I got my rifle 
and shot some turkeys for supper. The Sioux 
was too high to cross, so we went back on t) , 
Divide. We met on the prairie O. Plato, .,he 
first white man we had seen since we left 
Ft. Dodge. He is still living. There were 
two others, but I have forgotten their names. 
He told us about O. B. Smith and Eli Lee 
who lived at what is now Smithland. We went 
down the Sioux but found no one to take us 
across at first, and the mosquitoes nearly ate 
myself and horse up. Eli Lee then came 
across in a skiff and we found a rope stretched 
across the stream, and by this means we got 
our horse and buggy over. The same day we 
went about three miles south to Seth Smith's 
in Monona county. This land had just come 
into market at Council Bluffs and most of the 
settlers had gone there to pre-empt or enter 
their land. 

"We went on down to Ashton, in ]\Ionona 
county. Then we went north from Ashton, 
and the next family we found was named 
Driggs, living on the bank of Silver Lake in 
]\Ionona county, and about five miles above 
Ashton. 

"The next house I came to was that of John 
Bnnvn, on the bank of Sand Hill lake, that had 
been built there that summer. From Brown's 
house west I could see a house which T. Bru- 
guier had built on a claim. 

"The next boiise bv the road was built about 



796 



PAST AXI) PRESPLXT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



two miles from Brown's bv John M. Cloud, a 
sou-in-law of jMarsliall Townsley. He after- 
wards tried to lay out part of his half section 
into town lots, and called it isew Buffalo. I 
fotind his door locked ; he had gone to Council 
Blutfs to attend the land sales. His wife had 
gone up to her father's. I met her later. 

"The next house I came to was the one Len 
Bates and his brother had btiilt for J. D. M. 
Crockwell in Sergeants Bluffs. It was get- 
ting night then and we drove up to Traversie's ; 
he told us he could not accommodate us, but 
sent us to Judge Townsley's, east. I spent 
about a week there, Judge Townsley being in 
Council Bluffs attending the land sales and get- 
iig a supply of provisions. Until the judge 
go. home from this trip there was no bread at 
any of the families where we stopped. They 
used corn meal ground in large sized coffee 
mills. While I was there I met Hiram Xel- 
son, who then made his home with Judge 
Townsley's family, also Dr. Wixon, who lived 
with Traversie. 

"We drove up to Thompson Town and met 
Bill Thompson and his brother Charles. 
Charles Thompson married a sister of the 
Bates boys. We then went up to the cross- 

ing of the Floyd where Gallerueaux lived. 
The water was high and we had no boat. We 
did not come any nearer Sioux City. We were 
in the same condition as Moses was. We saw 
the promised land. 

"While stopping at Gallerneatix', Mr. Leavitt 
saw some dried herbs hanging from the rafters 
of his house, and commenced to handle them, 
at which the squaw set up a terrible howl, as 
we understood, because the white man, "Minne- 
hoska," touched or defiled them, and destroyed 
all their medicinal qualities for the Indians. 

"We were disappointed that we were not 
able to go up the Sioux to sec Bruguier. Sioux 
City was not then born even in name. We 
went down to Sergeants Bluffs and fotind Dr. 
Crockwell and T. Ellwood Clark had just ar- 
rived from Council Bluffs where thev had at- 



tended the land sales, and entered the town 
site and some other land. The Bates boys had 
just finished building the house. They had 
split small sized trees for the roof, then cov- 
ered it with hay, then several inches of dirt on 
top of the hay. The doctor had got plenty of 
muslin and had the inside vinder the roof and 
the sides lined. He had a j)uncheon floor. 

"The doctor had brought a good supply of 
provisions, and we found better eating there 
than at most p)laces. Mr. Clark was camping 
near Dr. Crockwell's while he was building his 
own house. Dr. Crockwell wanted to sell us 
an interest in his townsite, and tried to sell 
us lots, but I thought his town was too far 
from the river. Thompson had also wanted to 
sell us some lots, Imt I thought from what I 
had seen up the river that what is the pres- 
ent site of Sioux City was the best of any of 
them. 

"There were other houses in the vicinity 
of Traversie's, back from the road. There was 
one place across the road from Traversie's, east, 
where they sold liquor, a sort of a saloon. The 
houses south of Traversie's were west of the 
road toward the river. 

"I spent ten days in that vicinity, and as it 
was getting late in October, and there being no 
good, comfortable place to stay, we concluded 
to go back to Anamosa, and went by way of 
Council Bluffs. 

"I came back to this cotmty in Aj^ril, 1855, 
and followed the same route that I did before, 
but west of Ft. Dodge there was no trail, noth- 
ing to show a white man had ever crossed the 
country, except that I saw on the Maple a jug 
which someone had thrown away. 

"Old man Benner, father of the Benner boys, 
who opened a hotel in Sioux City, rented the 
Brown farm that year of 1855, and kept a 
hotel and stage station. I was told the fol- 
loAving story by Mr. Brown about something 
that had happened the winter before: 

"Tn the fall of '54 a little incident befell 
Brown. One evenine,- he told his familv he was 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBUEY COUNTY 



7U7 



going out to look for some cattle that were feed- 
ing on his corn stalks in his field, taking with 
him nothing but a sheath knife he had, and 
a shotgun loaded with duckshot. He tied one 
of his horses near his house, and took the other 
one and went to look after his cattle. His 
cattle were all right, and as he saw a deer near 
by he shot at it, and of course with the small 
shot he had he could not kill it, but the deer 
bled profusely, so he tied his horse to some 
trees, and followed the tleer by its bloody 
tracks. All of a sudden he saw two mountain 
tigers, or cougars, a male and a female. He 
was not protected in the way of firearms, 
having only his shotgiui, and he dared not 
fire on them. They did not rush at him im- 
mediately, but crouched close to the ground 
waving their tails, and creei^iug closer and 
closer to him. He of course backed off, and 
thought if he could get to the cattle, they would 
protect him, and the cougars would leave. He 
tried to divert their attention from himself and 
turn them oft" after the deer. He would throw 
a shoe, then a hat, then his coat, but it was 
of no avail. In running toward the cattle he 
had lost bis sheath knife and was almost un- 
j)rotectcd, except for his shotgun. When he 
reached his cattle he found that instead of be- 
ing a protection to him they all made a rush 
and left him alone, being afraid of the cou- 
gars, too. 

"His only hope now lay in getting to Bru- 
guier's empty house, which was still some dis- 
tance away. He made the house all right, and 
climbed to the roof, as the Bruguiers were not 
at home and he could not get in. He was safe 
for a while, so he set up a mighty yell, yelling 
as loud as he could. His wife heard him about 
three-quarters of a mile away, and knew some- 
thing was wrong, so she jumped on the horse 
that M'as tied by the door, and made a wild 
run toward his calls, witlmut liridle or saddle, 
just a halter on the horse, and coming up, 
tnnk in the situation. The rush of the horse 
and tlie vplling of both of them frightened the 



cougars, and they fied. Then Brown fired his 
gun at them. He jumjjed on behind his wife, 
and they rode home together thankful to be 
alive." Mr. Murphy goes on : 

"I might follow this story up with another 
story of an incident that hapi^ened at Brown's 
place when old man Benner lived there in 1S55, 
and which I witnessed : Benner had three 
yoke of oxen, as he had a contract to break up 
considerable ground, and a wagon ; in addition 
to these cattle he also had some young cattle 
and in the fall of the year he put up enough 
hay for feed, so they could winter in the tim- 
ber. One evening he told the boys he was go- 
ing to the timber to look after his cattle, and 
he wanted to ride old Ned. jSTo anxiety was 
felt on his account. I happened to be there 
myself that evening, and the first thing we 
knew, someone, on looking toward Bruguier's 
house, saw the old man on Xed come flying 
toward his house. He had lost his hat, his 
shirt bad ^\-orked above his pants and was fly- 
ing in the air, his long hair was flying in the 
wind, and altogether he was a most wild look- 
ing man ; he sat on his horse digging his heels 
into her sides, jumping up and down on her 
back, at every leap. I never saw a sight that 
made more of an impression on me than that 
did, his wild looks and his digging his heels 
into old Xed. He said the cougars had pretty 
nearly got him that time; they had followed 
him out of the timber and then went back, but 
he was as frightened as though they were still 
on his track." 

The colony at the Little Sioux increased 
somewhat in 1855. Early that year the county 
was divided into two townships. All that part 
east of the center of the west fork of the Little 
Sioux river was made Little Sioux township, 
and the part west of this stream renamed Ser- 
geants Bluffs township. The following officers 
were elected: Morris L. .Tones, justice of the 
peace; C. A. Cobb, constable; M. D. Metcalf, 
assessor: William Turman, James McDonald 
and Wendal ^fetcalf, township trustees, and J. 



r98 



PAST AND PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



IJ. I'ay, towiiship c-U'rk. Tliree of these, Cobb, 
il. D. Metcalf ami Day, were comparatively 
new comers, jjmbably arriving chiriug the pre- 
ceding winter, and in Angnst that year other 
new arrivals were elected to office, John Howe, 
E. F. Petty, A. Jones and T. Davis. Albert 
Jones came in Fcbrnaiy of that year, he was a 
brother of ^1. L. Jones, went to Pike's Peak in 
1859 and returned to Smithland in 1884. 

Petty was reputed to be not a very enter- 
prising citizen, fishing and tanning buckskin 
being his chief employments. 

P. C. H. J^oel came that year. He ran for 
county judge that year ; had been aj)i3ointed 
I^rosecuting attorney. He was highly educat- 
ed and a lawyer by profession, but a man of 
very little energy. He soon went to "White 
Cloud, Minn. 

There was also a Truman E. Howe, who, 
with others, was a petitioner for a county road 
that year from Correction Grove down the west 
si<le of the Little Si(nix to the county line. 

John Coonly came in that year probably. 

The first store was started that year in 
Smithland by Howe Bros., John and Truman 
E. Tliey came from Massachusetts. 

Smithland had become a town in name, and 
a school was started there that year with Miss 
Hanna Van Dorn as teacher, and a postoiUce 
was established either late that year or early 
the next year with Orrin P. Smith as the first 
postmaster. 

Mr. Cornelius Van Dorn came that year and 
settled south of Smithland. 

A pair of twins arrived that year, born to 
Edwin ^1. Smith. One of these soon died, it 
being tbc first birth and death in the valley. 

That year Morris Metcalf, a new comer, 
married Malinda Hatch. 

Tliis was a year of great expectations in this 
colony and some increasing. Many persons 
came to look at the valley with a view to settle- 
ment. 

It was during this year that one of these 
travelers was robbed 1iy another. A man hv 



the nanu- of Ordway, a returned Calif orniuu, 
came on a land buying expedition, and stayed 
at the house of O. B. Smith, and Mr. Smith 
being away, Mrs. Smith took charge of the 
ti-aveler's heavy valise, jjlacing it at the head 
of his bed. On the same day, another trav- 
eler, Wilbur Eddy, arrived with an ox team, 
and was permitted to stop there, as of neces- 
sity they kept wayfarers. In the morning Mr. 
Ordway's valise, which he then said contained 
$3,500, was gone, and also Eddy's pair of pants, 
so he said. There was snow on the ground, 
and the stranger Eddy was suspected, as the 
people there knew each other. ]\I. L. Jones 
and others began to investigate, and found a 
track that led down to the river, and there 
found the valise without any money in it, and 
Eddy's pants tucked under some bush. Eddy 
soon made an excuse for hunting after his 
cattle, which he said had strayed, and went up 
the hill into the woods, but was followed by 
_Mr. Jones, secretly, dodging to keep behind 
trees, who soon saw Eddy kicking snow against 
a liollow tree and pass on. As soon as he was 
out of sight, Mr. Jones examined and found 
the whole package of $3,500 in the tree. They 
arrested the man and took him to Sergeants 
Bluffs, but in some way he was released, no 
witness appearing against him. 

Dr. Andrew R. McCall entered a large tract 
of land at Smithland and lived there many 
years, till his death. 

Elijah Adams and Charles Parmalee came to 
Smitliland that year, and A. Livermore and 
Elinor Mead settled near Oto. Also Samuel 
R. Day, Parley Morris, Isaac C. Hall, Zalmon 
Livermore, Thompson ]\fcad and Elanson Liv- 
ermore. These all entered land in 1855 at Oto 
and above there and became prominent citizens 
of the county. 

There has been some question as to when a 
settlement was first made in the upper Sioux 
Valley aliout Correctionville, whether in 1855 
or lS5f!, but it is certain that Elias Shook, 
wifli liis finnilv, settled tiiere in 1855. 



PAST AND PEESENT OF WOODP.T^RY COUNTY 



799 



j\lr. Herman D. Clark, who came to the west 
end of the county in May, 1855, and lived in 
Sioux City many years, and is yet a large prop- 
erty owner here, knew him. Mr. Clark was 
a surveyor and land agent. He says: "The 
first season I was here with Elias Shook down 
in Thomjjson ti'wn. Shook and T Axent up the 
Little Sioux to ( 'orrectionvillc. His family 
was with him ami he liuilt a cabin on the cast 
side of the Little Sioux in the timber near 
where Correctionville now is. Shook claimed 
all the timber there. Erastus and Zachariah 
G. Allen married Shook's two daughters. Sid- 
ney Shook was one of the sons. Shook came 
from Wisconsin. He had trouble over some 
of his timber claim with a young man named 
Pennell, who lived in a cabin near him." Pen- 
nell was found dead in his cabin from a gun- 
shot wound and Shook was suspected, indicted 
in April, 1856, and the case was taken to Harri- 
son county at the same time as that against 
Bill Thom])son, but for some reason Shook was 
let go." 

Ml-. Clark further says: "Shook left after 
that, ily partner, Cassidy, and myself had 
furnished the money to enter Shook's pre-emp- 
tion in our name on a time entry, as was then 
common, on a year's time, and Shook not being 
heard from, we sold the land ; later Shook came 
back and was angry at us for selling." 

Till' murder possibly occurred early in the 
spring of 185G, as Shook was in custody for a 
few days at that time. 

Zachariah G. Allen probably settled there 
about the same time as his father-in-law, Shook, 
as Allen was married to Harriett Shook May 
5, 1855, before the trip with Mr. H. D. Clark 
to Correctionville that year, and 3Ir. Allen was 
appointed to organize Correctionville township, 
when on March 4, 1857, that township and 
Sioux City township were created. 

At the west end nf the cnuiity in the year 
1855 the settlement was more rapid. 

The immigration included all classes, farm- 
ers seekins' a home, business men and mechan- 



ics looking for a new, growing, town, real es- 
tate men, and speculators hunting a get-rich- 
(juick location, 3'oung men ready to turn their 
hand to anything that would give them a start 
in the world, and adventurers and migratory 
frontiersmen looking for new excitement. 

A sort of western fever pervaded the whole 
Lnited States. The vast possibilities of this 
great western empire had just begun to be real- 
ized, railroads were being built, others were 
projected, and the advance piimeer sent back 
a glowing account of the country and the possi- 
bilities on the frontier. 

The California gold excitement had sent 
many across the continent who returned to the 
east w-ith their descriptions of this Iowa coun- 
try, and among our early settlers were many 
of these California gold seekers, even from the 
extreme east, and the sj^irit of western immi- 
gration was aroused in man^- a home all along 
the line from Maine to eastern Iowa. The set- 
tlement and growth of the country and the 
cities, in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, they were 
sure would be repeated farther west. 

The promoters of the rival towns of Ser- 
geants Bluffs City and Sioux City were getting 
their plans in order, liuilding great hopes of 
making their paper towns of three or fonr 
houses expand into great commercial centers, 
and a brave few came to each of these places. 

At the lower settlement George Murphy 
opened a farm early in the spring of 1855 on 
the Council Bluffs road on section 30, township 
86, range 46, near where Sloan is located, and 
kept of necessity a sort of travelers' stopping 
place, and it later became one of the stage 
houses. He put in a croj) west of there at the 
southwest corner of Sand Hill lake in the weed 
land, about thirty acres, living there in a tent 
liefore he built his house. To show how b\isi- 
ness begins in a new country, ilr. Murphy re- 
lates that shortly after he came to that locality, 
he met in the road a party of men in a wagon, 
coming from the north, who had been up look- 
ing at the conntry and going back not just sat- 



BOO 



PAST AND PBESENT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY 



istieil. Aiuoiig them was one John Freidliiie, 
a stranger. 

In talking My. Mnrjihy told them what he 
planned to dij ; plant a crop and build a house 
on the road, that he conld sell his croji to im- 
migrants, and thought his prospect good. Up- 
on this Freidline jumped out of the wagon with 
his small bag of personal effects, and said "I 
am with you." He was a good partner, and 
helped raise about 1,000 bushels of corn that 
year, and put up about twenty tons of hay, 
which all became a valuable year's work, as it 
was in great demand the next winter and 
spring. 

Old man Bcnner lived at the upper end of 
Sand Hill lake that year in J. M. Brown's 
house, and Stephen Tillson, J. M. Brush, Ja- 
cob H. Halluek, John S. Bay, A. W. Puett, 
John Miller, T. C. McCall, Luther M. Brown, 
Henry Mulhollen, Alexander Smith, Charles 
M. Latchey and Joseph A. Marr were among 
the settlers and new comers, also J. K. ^rvers. 
The names of some others will be found in the 
petition for removal of the county seat to Ser- 
geants Bluffs City. Some of those may have 
been visitors who did not remain long. 

At Sioux City quite a number of young men 
came, mostly interested in town settlement. 
George Weare came, and as soon as there was 
anything to do opened up a branch real estate 
and banking house under the name of Greene, 
Weare, Graves & Co., the head house having its 
headquarters at Marion, Iowa, and this house 
has continued in business ever since in Sioiix 
City, most of the time after the first year or 
two as Weare & Allison, and lately merged into 
the Iowa State National Bank, of which Mr. 
George Weare is president. 

M. F. Moore, the first resident judge of the 
District Court, afterwards governor of Wash- 
ington Territory, was a prominent citizen. C. 
B. Eustin was another one of the young colony 
who was active here for many years, especiallv 
at the time of the Indian troubles, and later 
became a inMminont citizen of Omaha. 



Also J. ^M. White, Andrew Teech, Jacob T. 
I'liplan and Charles K. Smith. Most of these 
young men in Sioux City that fall of 1855 and 
subsequent winter were boarding at the log 
hotels, popularly called the '"Terrific," "Se- 
vere," and the ''Spondulic," the two former 
probably burlesques on the common hotel names 
of "Pacific" and "Revere," and the last to 
emi^hasize the fact that no credit was given. 
The "Terrific" was the most popiilar, and was 
kept by C. and W. Benner, called the Benner 
boys. The furniture and trimmings of this 
hotel were largely obtained from the steamer 
"Kate Sweeny," wrecked the year before near 
here. There were aliout fifty young men at 
these hotels, and only four married men, and 
they had jolly lively times dealing in to\vn lots, 
additions and prospective town sites. Many 
logs were cut across the river in Nebraska and 
hauled over for houses, and the campaign for 
the removal of the county seat from Sergeants 
Bluft's was organized. 

Austin Cole, Stephen Gardner and Charles 
Sangster came here from Iowa City that year. 
Cole got a claim on what is Cole's Addition, 
and was a justice of the peace. Sangster 
opened up a general trading store, including 
liquors, located near the foot of Douglas street, 
and next year, March 12, 1850, married Mary 
Ann Lapora, widow, a sister of Joseph Leon- 
nais. 

David Dodson settled here in the spring of 
1855 near the Floyd, near where the starch 
works buildings now are, and his son Charles 
was l)orn Ajiril 17 that year, said to be the 
first -ivhite child born in Sioux City, though 
Joseph Leonnais, Jr., who has but one-fourth 
Indian blood in his veins, might perhaps claim 
that distinction. 

Bill Craven, who was afterward killed in a 
street fight, came that year, the first man to 
<lie in the city, it is said. He was buried near 
the lirick yard at S]n-ingdale, and this was aft- 
erward utilized as an argument in favor of 
tlie hoalfhfiilness of the (own, "That it was so 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBrPY COUNTY 



801 



healthy they had to kill a man to start a grave 
yard." 

Dr. Cook, after his survey in the early sum- 
mer of 1854, went to Council Bluffs and then 
to Fairfield, Iowa, to consixlt with his associates, 
and late in the fall came hack to locate his 
townsite. It is said he tried to negotiate with 
Dr. J. D. M. Crockwell and T. Ellwood Clark 
for the jjurehase of their new city in embryo, 
Sergeants Bluffs City, and made a very liberal 
offer, but Dr. Crockwell was a very sanguine 
enthusiast, who had great hojaes of his town and 
was not willing to sell it out, Imt was anxious 
to sell lots or a fractional interest in his tiiwn. 
It is more likely Dr. Cook was not over anxious 
to buy them out, as he does not appear to have 
delayed long. 

"Bill" Thomjison's town was somewhat lim- 
ited in area of level land, and Thompson was 
also a stubborn, willful landowner, who never 
would sell, so Dr. Cook passed on up to Jo 
Leonnais' and settled down to live with him 
late in the year 1854, finding new arrivals since 
he was there in the summer, Louis D. Lettel- 
lier, claiming Avhat is now ]\Iiddle Sioux City, 
Elie Bedard, East Sioux City, then Amable 
Gallcnieaux and John B. LaPlant lived where 
the stock yards now are. So all the river front 
was taken from Sawyer's Bhiff nearly to Pros- 
pect Hill, and as a stcaml>oat landing was nec- 
essary to a town. Dr. Cook took a claim to 
what there was next west, the east half of sec- 
tion 20, being most of which is now platted 
as Sioux City, west of Perry Creek, and he 
soon built his claim house about where the 
park is now on West Third street. 

This gave him a small piece of river front 
cast of Prospect Hill about as wide as the space 
the brewery now occupies, with the level tract 
west of that hill at the foot of Main street. He 
assumed to his friends that this was all the 
town he needed and commenced to stake out 
the lots in December of that year, and con- 
tinued it through the early winter, as it was an 
o])cn one. 



Samuel F. Watts, who had lieen Dr. Cook's 
assistant in the survey of the towiishijj, iielped 
in this survey; at least, in the first plat filed 
he was named as surveyor. A crude map or 
plat of this survey was made as surveyed by 
Samuel Watts and presented by John K. Cook 
to Theophile Bruguier, acting county judge, 
who on May 2, 1855, certified that he was sat- 
isfied with said j^lat, and ordered it to be re- 
corded, and it was recorded May 5, 1855, in 
the office of the recorder of Pottawattamie 
coTinty, Iowa, so marked by Lewis Cunning- 
ham, recorder. 

In the meantime he had been negotiating 
with Leonnais for the purchase of his claim, 
and had communicated with his backers, one 
of whom, Daniel Rider, came up. They told 
Leonnais they wanted the land for an orchard, 
but others told Leonnais they wanted the land 
for a town site, but he had not much exj^erience 
or faith in town site, and finally concluded to 
sell for $3,000.00 cash. His sister, Mrs. La- 
pora, who had come from Canada to live with 
him the fall before, advised against the sale, 
but that did not stop it, so early in the spring 
they came into jjossession of this new tract. 
That winter Cook and Eider purchased from 
the territorial legislature of Nebraska, which 
then was in session at Omaha, a charter for a 
ferry for a company named the Sioux City 
Ferry C'ompany over the [Missouri river, for 
a distance of a mile or more up and down ojipo- 
site Sioux City. This act of the legislature 
was approved March 14, 1855. 

George Chamberlain had taken as a pre-emp- 
tion in part and laid claim to another part of 
the north half of section 28, that is, all of 
Sioux City East Addition north of Seventh 
street, and had his hoTise at the northeast cor- 
ner of Seventh and Jones street, where his 
permanent house, liuilt a few years after, still 
stands. At some time during that year of 
1855 or early in 1850 this town site syndicate 
made a liargain with Chamberlain for the pur- 
chase of a half interest in his whole claim, it 



802 



PAST AXD PRE8P]XT OF WOODBURY ('OUXTY 



was said for $3,000.00, by the terms of which 
the land was to be platted into lots, the syndi- 
cate to plat the west half and Chamberlain the 
east half, and that the syndicate were to enter 
from the United States the northwest quarter, 
and Chamberlain the northeast quarter and 
jilat and divide afterward. 

This syndicate was composed at first of Henn 
& Williams, owning two-sixths, John K. Cook 
one-sixth. The two Iowa United States senators, 
Angnstns C. Dodge and George W. Jones, 
Daniel Eider and James A. Jackson each own- 
ing one-eighth. Cook & Rider were the agents 
here on the ground, Henn & Williams were ex- 
tensive bankers in Iowa and both of these men 
had considerable political influence, Bernhart 
Henn being a congressman up to that time, and 
Jesse Williams, a former territorial official, and 
the two senators politically able to secure a 
land office, a postoffice, or any needed help at 
Washington. It made a pretty strong influen- 
tial company, and they named themselves the 
Sioux City Company, taking that name early 
in 1855, when they commenced the business of 
platting the town, taking the name from the 
Big Sioux river, which then emptied into the 
Missouri only about a mile and a half west of 
their west line. 

The Sioux City Company at first undertook 
to enter their whole tract, the west half of sec- 
tion 28 and east half of section 29. Under the 
Town Site Act of the United States, by which 
settlers upon a tract having a town organization 
of a council or trustees cotild enter in the towm 
name for the use of the settlers, or if there was 
no town organization the county judge could 
enter it for the same uses, b\it they could not 
in fact enter more than half a section in that 
way. 

Their application had been made at the 
land office at Council Bhiifs. Watts had made 
a survey of the Leonnais tract also. The com- 
pany then decided to enter the east half of 
section 20 and iTsed the same maps in the Unit- 
ed States land office as that first surveved by 



Watts, and in the jjlat filed at Council Bluffs, 
which differed somewhat from the later official 
plat finally adopted. 

In this first plat all the land was n<it platted, 
the lots around the park running east and west, 
the same as the other lots. 

This town site entry of the east half of sec- 
tion 20 was made at the Sioux City land office 
April 1-i, 1856, cash entry Xo. 2S0, in the 
name of John K. Cook, county judge, in trust 
for the occtipants and owners of lots in Sioux 
City, Woodbury county, Iowa. This land was 
patented December 15, 1857. 

Without at this time following chronologic- 
ally the settlement and growth of Sioux City 
during this period we will complete the history 
(if this town site company. 

It procured an act of Congress March ?>, 
1855, by which a landoffice was ordered estab- 
lished at Sioux City, Iowa, which was opened 
October 22, 1855, with Dr. S. P. Yeomans, 
who came at that time, as register, but not 
much business was done that spring. Dr. Yeo- 
mans procured his appointment through the 
influence of Senator Jones, whose election to 
the United States senate had been greatly as- 
sisted by the doctor, who was at the time a 
member of the Iowa Legislature. Dr. Yeo- 
mans had bought a one-fovirth interest of Dan- 
iel Rider's one-eighth share in the town. 

Andrew Leech was appointed register of the 
land office, and had a small interest in some 
manner in the property, but this interest passed 
til Dr. Yeomans. Leech owed his appointment 
to the other members of the company. 

Horace C. Bacon, who had been a law part- 
ner of L'nited States Senator Wells, of Exeter, 
X. H., in 1855 got the western fever, and had 
heard of the prospective Sioux City, possibly 
from Senator Wells, who probably had learned 
of it from the Iowa senators. Dodge and Jones. 
He had been a law student in the office of 
Franklin Pierce, then president. IMr. Bacon 
came west in the siunmer of 1855 and reached 
Sioux Citv bv war of Council Bluffs. He 



PAST AND PEESKNT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



803 



found the town composed chieflj- of about eight- 
een men who lived in the Jo Leouuais house, 
but was eonvineed of the great prospects of. 
the town, and decided to become interested and 
went to Fairtield, Iowa, the headquarters of 
the boom town, and bought a one-sixth interest 
of Henn i)c Williams" one-third iuterest. He 
was 110 doubt considered a great acquisition, 
from his supposed aequaiutance and influence 
with the president, and lie in fact became a 
leading factor in the company. He returned to 
Sioux City in December, 1855. 

By the spring of 1856 the prospects looked 
bright for th(> future of the company, and there 
was need of a better organization, so a meet- 
ing was held of those interested, in Sioux City, 
Ajiril 1, lS5t). There were present at this 
meeting. Dr. John K. Cook, Jesse Williams, 
Horace C. Bacon, S. P. Yeomans and possibly 
Daniel Rider, some of those present represent- 
ing absent partners, Jones, Dodge, Jackson and 
Henn. Contracts for sale of lots had been 
made before that by John K. Cook, as agent of 
the Sioux City Company, and it was decided 
to merge all the interests in a new company, 
which should own all the others and which 
Could do a general business in promoting the 
town, including the ownership of the Sioux 
City Ferry Company, which owned the ferry 
franchise from the state of Xebraska, and they 
contemplated controlling the town across the 
river, as Dr. Cook had a claim there. 

They named the new company the Sioux 
City Land 6c Ferry Company and elected Dr. 
John K. Cook as president, Horace C. Bacon, 
secretary, and Dr. S. P. Y^eomans, treasurer, 
and these men constituted a sort of resident 
executive committee, that transacted all the 
Imsiness. Books were opened and records and 
accounts were kept, but in fact it was a part- 
nership. They continued to use the name of 
the Sioux City Company in contracts for sale 
of lots but the records of these transactions 
went on the books of the Sioux City Land & 
Ferry Company. They resurveyed the town 



plat of Sioux City Fast Addition, the work 
being done chiefly by U. \V. F. Sherwin in 
the spring of 185(i, and this plat was used in 
their lot sales after that. It is said they de- 
cided on some changes in the map, but had 
sold some one or two lots by numbers and by 
the new survey the descrij^tion of these lots 
would not naturally correspond to the old num- 
bers, hence the irregular numbering of the lots 
in the flrst row of blocks south of Seventh 
street, in which the lots commence with num- 
ber 1 on the east side of the block one lot south 
of the northeast corner, whereas in all other 
blocks the lots commence to number at the 
mu-thwest corner of the block, Seventh street be- 
ing the limit of the claim bought of Jo Leou- 
uais, and first surveyed. 

Another matter that remains of interest is 
that all the lots in this addition, or nearly all, 
now exceed in size a few inches the 50x150 
feet, the platted size; there is one notable ex- 
ception, which is the tier of blocks between 
ISTebraska and Jackson streets that are shorter 
in length than that given. 

^Ir. Luther C. Sanborn, who came here in 
the spring of 1856. a friend of Horace C. Ba- 
con, used to relate that he brought a compass 
and chain with him, and one of the first things 
he did was to help Mr. Sherwin survey Sioux 
City East Addition, south of Seventh street, 
and that Sherwin desired to use IMr. Sanborn's 
chain, biu on comparing it with his own found 
Mr. Sanborn's shorter; and, not wishing to 
discredit his own chain, took !Mr. Sanborn's to 
a blacksmith and hail it lengthened to corre- 
spond with his own, though Mr. Sanborn was 
sure his own was correct. 

The method of marking the lines of the 
streets was principally by chaining the length 
of the lots, streets and alleys, east and west, 
near the river front, and from ibis base line 
with the compass sighting north and running 
the north and south lines, and chaining north 
setting the lot stakes without in all cases meas- 
uring the length of tlie lots east and west, so 



804 



PAST AXD PRESEXT OF WOODmiJY COrXTY 



a slight variation in the line of the streets 
woiild make some of the hlocks wider than 
others east and west ; these two things account 
for some of the Mocks lieing narrower than 
others, but averaging more ihan a present 
measurement wouhl show. 

May 14, lS.i(), Congress, through the intln- 
ence of our Iowa <lelegation, had made a grant 
of lands in aiil of a railroad from 13ubuque 
to Sioux City; and to prevent settlers from 
rushing in and ])re-enipting or entering the odd 
numbered sections of land that would fall with- 
in the limits of this grant, where the line of 
railroad was surveyed, an order was made sus- 
pending all entries within those limits, and an 
order of the General Laud Office was also made 
withdrawing this land from market, and sus- 
pending further entries. So this company, by 
its delay in getting this land as a town site were 
stopped from entering it, and hence had a rap- 
idly growing toAvn witli many lots that they 
had contracted to sell with no title, and this 
condition lasted for two years, till July 1, 
18.">S, when it again came into market. But 
September Ifi, ISnr,, they hied with the coun- 
ty recorder a plat of their town, of the parts 
they claimed, of Sioux City and Sioux City 
East Addition, the west half of section 28 and 
the east half of section 29, controlling as they 
did the United States land offices, and with the 
influence they had at Washington, they felt 
secure. But nnmy threats were made from 
time to time tlnit some one would make an ef- 
fort to enter tlie hind away from them, that is, 
some one of tlie settlers would try and claim a 
pre-emi)tion on it, or a nuudier of them would 
combine and beat the old company out of it. 
ifr. S. T. Davis, one of the settlers of 185(i. 
an attorney, used to say that he was offered 
$1,000.00 by a client if he would secure him 
the entry from the United States of this tract. 
The comi)auy also controlled the county 
jiulge who then acted with all the authority of 
the present board of supervisors, and on Ajn-il 
14, 185ri, when they entered what is Sioux 



( ity, fluy tiled the following documents with 
the county judge, the first one to apply to Sioux 
City then entered, and the last one to Sioux 
City East Addition, on the west half of section 
28, which they then named as East Sioux City, 
but intended for what they later called Sioux 
City East Addition, Elie Bedard for his tract 
having adopted the name of East Sioux City 
for the plat of his tract. This entry on the 
county judge's record is as follows: 

P. 14, 1S5C), April 14. To the Hon. County 
.Judge of Woodbury County, Iowa : The un- 
dersigned, ])roprietors of Sioux City, respect- 
fully petition you to deed the property entered 
as a town site in trust for <iur use and benefit 
to Stephen P. Yeomans, who is authorized to 
act as trustee for us in making sale and con- 
veyance of lots in said town to persons who have 
or may hnvc hereafter make jiurchase. 
Respectfully, etc., 

Beenhakt Henn, 
Jesse Wilt.iams, 
and otiiees. 
April 1."). To the County Judge of Wood- 
liury County. Sir: — The uixlersigned respect- 
fully petition yon to enter as County Judge the 
west half of section Xo. 28, township 8!r>, 
range 47, in trust for the benefit of the owners 
and occupants of lots in the toAvn of East Sioux 
City, according to the provisions of the laws of 
the United States, and of the state of Iowa, in 
reference to town sites, April 15, 1856. 

Beexiiaet IIexn^ 
Jesse Williajis, 
and others. 
Some of the original owners up to this time 
had sidd ])<irtions of their interest. Senator 
Jones had sold to Pairo it Xourse, some Wash- 
ington bankers, one-fourth of his interest; 
James A. Jackson had sold to Robert Boyce, 
of South ('iirolinn, oni'-fdurtli of his interest; 
Daniel Jiider sold most of his interest as fol- 
lows: one-sixth of it to Cyrus Strong, of Bing- 
linniton, ^X. Y. ; one-sixth of it to G. S. 
Tlioni]ison ; (ine-fourth of it to William ^Font- 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WWODRUKY COTTNTY 



805 



gomen-, ;i Pi'iiiisylviiiiia congressman, and one- 
eighth of it to William II. Oliver, another 
Pennsylvania congressman. This still left him 
with one-eighth of his original one-eighth share. 
These new men took no active part in the com- 
pany's affairs. 

The methoil pnrsiieil liy the eomjiany in sell- 
ing lots was til give a receipt or bond signed 
by John K. Cook as ''trnstee for Sioux City 
Company," to the purchaser of any lot, agree- 
ing to give a deed as soon as title eonld be ob- 
tained from the United States. The sales com- 
mencing in the fall of 1855 and ending in the 
fall of 1856. These bonds in some instances 
were recorded, and in many cases assigned, bnt 
generally the company was notified of the as- 
signment, and when the time came that it 
could make deeds, these bonds were presented. 
kSales were generally for cash. 

In some instances lots were given to persons 
who would build, as for instance, October 17, 
18r)5, Abraham Kniss was given Lot 6, block 17 
in East Addition to Sioux City (northeast cor- 
ner of Fourth and Pearl streets) if he would 
erect a got id hewed log house one and a half 
stories high. This became a sort of hotel where 
it is said fried eggs were ten cents each, and 
boiled eggs five cents each, because the land- 
](ir(l t<ink all tlic risk of the soundness of the 
fri('(l egg, and the guest took his own chances 
on the boiled egg. 

This i^eculiar contract, before a deed w^as 
signed, was twice assigned, once by Kniss to 
Austin Cole, and by him to Thomas L. Griffey 
and deeded to still another party. 

December fi, 1850, the active members of 
the company got together in Sioux City and 
decided to divide up the lots. They already 
liad title to most of the part west of Perry 
Creek in the east half of section 29, and had 
no doubts as to getting the rest, so reserving 
tlie saw mill site just east of the mouth of 
Perry creek, the depot site where the North- 
western depot now is, and a few other unim- 
portant pieces, and leaving out the lots con- 



tracted to be sold, and the Chamberlain cpiai'- 
ter section, proceeded to put pi-ices on each lot, 
and then divided according to the value and 
the shares of each, some of those pi'esent act- 
ing for those absent, laking turns in making 
choice of about a quarter of a block apiece each 
time ai-ound, all were divided, then deeds were 
made by Cook as county judge to each ; and 
giving a bond for a deed to each one for the 
part they had not yet entered; they evidently 
had not kept track of Daniel Eider's transfers 
of his interest, but gave deed and bond to Rider 
for all his share except that owned by Yeo- 
mans, which, years later, led to much litigation 
in establishing the interests of Strong, Thomp- 
son, Montgomery and Oliver. 

The company by this division, and by subse- 
quent hard times depreciating the value of what 
they had left, stripped itself of financial abil- 
ity to further pi-omote the town. 

Finally, July 1, 1858, the railroad land 
grant being adjusted, the west half of section 
28 again came into market, and was to be of- 
fered at public sale by the land offices. The 
great boom had collapsed in June, 1857. Then 
the general financial crash that spread over 
the whole country came, and now that the land 
was to be sold, it strained the finances of the 
company to raise the $2.50 an acre to pay for 
this west half of section 28, as it had disposed 
of nearly all its assets before the division of the 
lots the fall before. It is said a man, one Mc- 
Clellan, came along about that time and bought 
a lot for cash and jnil tlicni in funds. But 
there was the danger that someone or some 
syndicate would bid on the land and run it 
up at the land office sale, and precautions were 
taken to pi'event this, but every man living here 
then in the city had bought a lot and paid for 
it, and depended on the company to furnish 
him a title, and times were desperately hard, 
money scarce, and the vast majority of the peo- 
]de were in a mood to hang a man who would 
interfere with the company getting the title. 
A fiiitlifiil few were stationed in tlie front 



806 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



rank ready for the opening sale, ilr. L. C 
Sanborn, being one of these, an old 'Sew Hamja- 
shire townsman of Horace C Bacon, who bid 
in this land without opposition. The public 
temper would admit of no delay, and the same 
day, his wife joining, he executed a declara- 
tion of trust that he had entered the land with 
the money of the Sioux City Land d: Ferry 
Company, and in trust for that company and 
its assigns, and that he would not sell or grant 
it to any jJerson than this company and its as- 
signs. 

This was duly recorded the next day, and 
at once, Mr. Bacon, as trustee, commenced 
making deeds to the partners for the lots set 
off to them in the division and to the purchasers 
who held the bonds from the company, and 
during that August and September conveyed 
most of the lots. 

George W. Chaniliei'lain had entered his 
northeast quarter of section 28, June 19, 1856, 
but the company had not entered its part, so 
no division of that had taken place. 

After the lots had been mostly divided by 
Bacon some began to criticise the transaction, 
suggesting that the only plat filed was that of 
October 16, 1856, which was signed by no one, 
but acknowledged by John K. Cook as agent, 
ami trustee for the proprietors of Sioux City, 
and contemplated an entry under the state or 
national town site law. While this land was 
entered by Horace C. Bacon and his trust de- 
clared in favor of the Sioux City Land & Ferry 
Company, and neither Bacon or his company 
had made or acknowledged any plat as required 
by law, the old one not coiniilyiny ^vitll the law 
in other respects, it was decided to make an 
entirely new j)lat conforming in most respects 
with the one already tiled, and embracing all 
the land, complying with all legal reqiiirements, 
ilr. Thomas J. Stone, as surveyor, revising and 
standing sponsor for the whole plat. This was 
signed and acknowledged by George W. (^ham- 
berlain for his ])art, Horace C. Bacon for his 
half section, and bv S. P. Yeomans as trus- 



tee for the old Sioiix City Company for the 
part of the east half of section 29, duly ac- 
knowledged October 5th, and recorded October 
8, 1858. 

So it was nearly four years after the survey 
started, and three years after lots began to be 
sold liefore the title of the jiurchasers was pei'- 
fected. 

(ieorge W. (^'liamlierlain soon got his deed to 
his share of the lots in the northwest quarter 
of section 28 and deeded to S. P. Yeomans, as 
trustee for the Sioux City Land & Ferry C^om- 
pany, one-half the lots on his quarter section, 
giving that company again some undivided lots 
which they soon had to mortgage to pay the 
l)alance due Tootle & Jackson for the old ferry 
boat, which they had purchased. Lewis Burns 
and the owners of the saw mill and ililton 
Tootle finally got their lots on foreclosure. 

But the Sioux City Land & Ferry Company, 
the powerful trust that had among its partners 
the two United States senators and ex-Iowa 
congressman, and two Pennsylvania congress- 
men, with friends in Congress and in the presi- 
dential chair, leading Iowa bankers, the coiinty 
judge and the district judge, could not prevent 
the energetic young men from gathering about 
the edges and making additions to their to'wn. 
This began early in 1S5C and we will, in con- 
nection with the history of the original eom- 
l)any, describe briefly the other plats. 

A syndicate of new comers, comjiosed of A. 
\Y. Hubbard, Samuel H. Cassady, W. R. Hen- 
ry, W. H. Frame, W. B. Tredway, bought out 
the claim of Louis D. Letellier to what is mid- 
dle Sioux City, and did business under the firm 
name of A. ^Y. Hubbard & Co., each one hav- 
ing a specific interest, and filed their plat June 
•'10, 185(1, though they did not enter the land 
until later, when William R. Henry entered it 
and divided up the lots. 

Joseph Lionat ( Leonnais) entered Floyd 
City and filed a ])lat June 19, 1856. 

Elie Bedard platted East Sioux City, ilay 
14, 1856. 



PAST AXD PEESl'INT OF WOODBUIJY COUNTY 



807 



Andrew i\[. Ilniir and (}. W. F. Sherwiu 
August 7, 1856, tiled a jdat of Hunt <Sr Slier- 
win Addition, which plat after manv years was 
vacated, and is now part of Bine place, and the 
S. M. Marsh tract aboiit the city reservoir. 
Table Addition, between Greenville and Morn- 
ingside was jslatted by Marshall F. ]\Ioore, 
November 8, 1856. 

Central Sionx City was platted by Hiram 
Nelson, C. B. Enstin and Jacob Rnth June 8, 
1857. 

Holnian's addition was platted May 17, 1857. 

South Sionx ( 'ity was laid out on the south 
half of section 31, where the stock yards are 
now located, and east into the bluffs was platted 
in 1857 by L. D. Letellier. Clement La- 
moreanx. Flic Bedard, W. W. Culver and H. 
D. Betts. This inchided the mouth of the 
Floyd, where the bridge across that stream 
was, and joined East Sionx City, owned by 
the same syndicate. They put in a grist and 
saw mill at the mouth of the Floyd and started 
some stores there, and got some business men 
interested, but coiild not make it Avin. 

North Sioux City was platted by Dr. Frank- 
lin Wixon May 14, 1857. Addison Cochran 
jtlatted South Sioux City, South Division, July 
31, 1857, next soiith to the stock yards. 

C. B. Rustin & Co. Addition was platted 
May 10, 18.")7. This was a syndicate affair 
in which C. B. Knstin, Samuel H. Cassady, 
A. W. Hubbard and scA'cral non-residents were 
interested. 

Meek's, Arthur's and Anderson's Addition 
was platted December 10, 1857, on the Floyd, 
where the upper end of the new Omaha rail- 
road yards are located. 

Noxon's Addition of outlots was platted 
September 16, 1857, on the southeast quarter 
of section 9, being north of the northeastern 
part of what is now Pierce's Addition. His 
expectation of sul)urlian homes in the outskirts 
of the town has not yet been realized. 

Frederick A. Wilmans in 1858 platted what 
he called West Sioux City, without describing 



the land, but naming the streets to correspond 
to what wouM now be Kose Hill and Higman's 
Addition. 

Means & Kennedy, May 29, 1858, platted 
their addition out toward Morningside. 

Lots in these additions were sold, many to 
eastern parties, and about every man in the 
city in 1856 had an interest in some addition 
or was holding on to a piece of land which he 
hoped in the near future would be needed. Lots 
enough were platted in 1856 in Sioux City to 
satisfy the needs of a population of 200,000 
or more, and much of this area remains yet un- 
occupied or but thinly settled. 

In 1856 a German colony, residents of Du- 
buque, Iowa, with a view of finding some place 
where they could buy land cheap and plat it 
into lots and own their homes, was organized 
and a committee of foiir was sent to Sioux 
City to find such a place. These were George 
Kleffner, Henry Grimme, Henry Cordua and 
William Reinke. They bought the south 110 
acres of Austin Cole's claim, which is now 
Cole's addition to Sionx City, for $5,700, July 
16, 1856, and they soon conveyed it to a cor- 
poration called the Missouri Eiver Land Com- 
[lany, the first three named trustees eontimiing 
til act as trustees for the corporation in the 
division of the lots among the stockholders. 
Evidently the shares were $75 each, as the 
deeds were made in 1857 to a large number of 
individuals of four and one-half lots each on 
that consideration, some individuals taking 
more than one deed. 

William Reinke came back in the fall of 
lN5(i to represent the company and take pos- 
session of the land. He lived the subsequent 
winter in a shanty, nearly opposite Floyd Cem- 
etery gate. The winter was a severe one, with 
ileej) snow, and he suffered great hardships 
from inability to get supjilies. 

In the spring of 1857 Mr. Reinke's family 
came out, also Henry Cordua and family and 
one or two other families. F. J. Lambert and 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



family came at the same time, Imt did not be- 
long to the colony. 

The panic of IS,")" or some (')ther canse 
stopjjed the migration of the colony, which 
otherwise must have Inid a nuu'ked influence 
on the growth of the town, as the few that did 
come in were prcmiinent tignres in our growth. 

Mr. Reinke was a gunsmith and lived here 
till he died, a few years ago. His two daugh- 
ters are yet alive, Mrs. Caroline Groninger and 
Mrs. John Haner. Henry Cordua was killed 
by the Indians, but his family yet remain. 

The jjlatting of town sites outside of Sioux 
City began with W. B. Thompson's town of 
Floyd's Ijlntf, the plat of which was filed in 
the recorder's office in l^otfawattamie county on 
or before July IS, IS.V), when the coimty seat 
was located there, but no maj) or jslat was ever 
filed in Woodbury county. The land had not 
then been entered. He evidently had sold some 
lots, but in that resjject he did as nearly all oth- 
er town lot proprietors did in this new country, 
made a survey, bad a map made of the pros- 
pective town, commenced to sell lots, and then 
waited to enter the land. 

Sergeants Blutis City, after Floyd's Bluif, 
was the next town jiiat staked out, and the first 
real town started, the sur\'ey and staking out 
preceding that of Sioux City by two or three 
months. The land f<ir the town site was en- 
tered by Moses F. Shinn, of Council Bluffs, 
being at first platted aliont I he width of forty 
acres, extending from where tiie nuiin town 
now is west to the Missouri river. Moses F. 
Shinn conveyed to his associates, the propri- 
etors then being Moses F. Shinn, T. Elwood 
Clark, J. D. M. Crockwell, Samuel F. Watts 
and Leonard Bates. 

It was surveyed by Samuel F. Watts, ^v]\o 
certified to the survey Xovember 20, 1854. It 
was acknowledged li\- flic pro]n-ietors at dates 
from November (i lo Xovember 28, 1854, 
Clark, Watts and Shinn acknowledging it at 
Council Blutt's, and liatcs and Crockwell at 
Sergeants Blufi's. Tt was certified and ap- 



proved by Orrin B. Smith, county judge, who 
ordered Lewis Cimningham to record it, but it 
was not recorded till August 14, IS.",."), aiid the 
identical plat was again recorded December 28, 
lS5(i, probably to cure some supposed defect. 

The phins, hopes and expectations of its 
promoters are shown in the ]U'ovisions made for 
tlie steaniliiiat anil ferry lanilings preserved 
at the river front and the numerous parks 
mapped on the plat. 

Jeifersou Park was set ajiart for ornamental 
grounds under control of the city perpetually. 
Van Buren and Harrison Parks for pleasure 
and lu-iiamental grounds. Washingt(.in Park 
for ornamental grounds mider the control of 
the county. ^lonroe Park for a hall and f(U' 
]iark ]iurj)oses, under control of the ^lasonic 
fraternity. Adams Park in the same way for 
the use of the Odd Fellows. Madison Park 
for a college and Jackson Park for a female 
academy. 

Later, -Inly 14, 18.37, a larger plat, includ- 
ing this land and other ground north and south 
of this original piece, was acknowledged by 
the owners, making nearly three times as miich 
niiu-e than the original plat ; this was recorded 
July 10, 1858, and on this niaj) the name of 
tiic owner was placed on every lot, evidently 
to nuike of reciu'd other plats that had been 
made. Tt included the lands of other owners. 
East and west across the south part of the plat 
a line of railroad was marked with a passenger 
station at the east end and a freight depot at 
the west, near the river bank. The levee was 
given for a ])erpetual ferry landing for the Ser- 
geants Blurt's ami Dakota City Ferry Com- 
pany. 

Smitbbind no donlit was stirveycd and a 
nuip nuidc of it at an early day, but the i)lat 
was not recorded till September 23, 1856. 

The town of Correctionville was surveyed 
Se])tendier 2."), 1855, on the southeast ipiarter, 
section ."il, and southwest (|uarter, section 35, 
townsliip S'.l, range 42, but it only shows nine 
blocks of eii>ht lots each, occtiiiviuii' ordv a small 



PAST AXD PKESEXT OF WOODBrEY COUNTY 



809 



portion of tlie half section described. It was 
not recorded until ^May 26, 1856. 

George W. Chamberlain, Hiram iSTelson, 
Francis Chaijel, Samuel Ruth, and Charles B. 
Austin, and Horace C. Bacon of the firm of 
Henu, Williams, Cook i: ('(imjiany were the 
l^roi^rietors. For a long- time it was a mere 
paper town, and did not materialize for several 
years. As will be seen by the names, the 
jjromoters were young men of the early cro]) of 
Sioux City boomers. 

The town site fever Avas an epidemic in those 
early days and the country for a hundred 
miles around was dntteil with ]iaper towns, 
many that ne\'cr went on record, and most of 
them outside of Woodbiiry county, but promot- 
ed from here. Across the river in Xebraska 
were Covington, Pacific City, Dakota City, 
Oneadi, St. Johns, Logan, then Ponca and 
Ionia in Dixon county, St. Helena, St. James, 
Opochee, ISTiobrara and Wacapoma. 

It can not be determined with exact certainty 
just how many buildings there were in Sioux 
City when the year 1856 began. There were 
those heretofore spoken of as belonging to the 
original settlers as follows : — Joseph Leonnais' 
original house, the one L. T. Letellier built in 
Middle Sioux City, Eli Bedard's in East Sioux 
City, Hiram Xelson's in Central Sioux City, 
Joseph Leonnais' claim house in Floyds City, 
Galleneaux' at the Floyd crossing, a shanty 
at Gi-eenville, Richard E. Rowe's claim shanty, 
occu])ied by Jlenry Angle, across the Floyd east 
of tlie new Omaha railroad sho])s, and Dod- 
son's shanty above Rowe's. Also the log house 
which Austin Cole built on his claim in north 
part of Cole's Addition, which still stands en- 
closed as part of Fred A. Bishop's residence at 
or near his greenhouses. There were probably 
other claim shanties farther out. 

The business center was along Pearl and 
Douglas streets. Josei)h Leonnais' old house 
had expanded into a hotel and was then kept 
by the Benner Brothers, and called the Tei"- 
rific. The main room contained three double 



beds and constituted the office, dance hall, and 
e\-ervthing else needed. The Claim Club was 
organized there. John Hagy and wife sooii 
after bought out this hotel and much improved 
its reputation and condition. 

The Severe Hotel, conducted by Austin Cole, 
was located at the northwest corner of Douglas 
and Third streets, where the ^Icrchants Hotel 
now is. 

Another new log hotel, kept by Abraham 
Kniss, stood at the northeast corner of Pearl 
and Fourth streets. 

The LTnited States Land Office stood opposite 
cm the northwest corner of Fourth anl Pearl, 
and Horace C. Bacon had a log building for a 
bank at the southwest corner of Third and 
Pearl. 

Charles Sangster had a sort of trading post 
or general store and saloon at the foot of Doug- 
las street. White and C'oplan kept a general 
store in a tent. These constituted the great 
metropolis when the si)ring of 1856 opened and 
the great immigration began. This was the 
res^ilt of one year's work in the new town. 

The agitation for the removal of the county 
seat to Sioux City culminated early in 1856. 
The petition of S. P. Yeomans, George Weare 
and forty-nine others was on !^^arch 3 pre- 
sented to the county judge, asking for this re- 
moval of the county seat to Sioux ( 'ity. 

A remonstrance to this removal was signed 
by T. E. Clark, J. D. M. Crockwell and others, 
and the matter was submitted to the voters of 
the county at the election held April 7, 1856. 
It was the first hotly contested election in the 
county. Sergeants Bluffs City had not given 
up its hopes of becoming the chief town of the 
county and had able, energetic men, and the 
advantage of jiossession. 

The polling place was there, but the to'wn- 
shi]) trustees elected the year before were di- 
vided in their choice. J. Clark lived at Ser- 
geants Bluffs City, M. Townsley at his farm 
aliout half way between that and Sioux City, 
and Iliram Xelson, Townsley's son-in-law, 



SIO 



PAST AND riJESEN T OF WOODBl KY COUNTY 



livoil at Sioux I'iiv. H. D. I'lark. the towu- 
sliip clerk, also liveti at Sioiix City, The re- 
stilt of the vote was as follows: 

For. Against. 
Sergeants Blutfs township. . 70 4o 

Little Sioux Township 10 2i> 

Total SO 71 

A majority of nine in favor of removal. It is 
said the people of Sergvants Bluffs, feeling 
sore over their defeat, were unkind euough 
to insinuate that ntany illegsil votes were oast 
in favor of Sioux City, enough to have changed 
the result, that fresh arrivals not here long 
enough to vote, minors, tinnatnralized French- 
men and half-bUnxls had voteii. 

Of course, the enthusiastic young men who 
had carrieii the election and had reaped the rt^ 
ward of their victory indignantly denietl the 
charge. 

There were many arrivals of new men that 
spring; all wante^l land near Sioux City and 
were not satistied with town lots. Most of 
them had a little money, which they wisluni to 
use to the lx»st advantagi\ The settlers of the 
previous years were making claims to all the 
land they jx>ssibly ctnild. making some slight 
improvements to notify pn^sjHxnive buyers of 
their claims, till the one who wantinl it cmild 
get the money to enter it, or sell his right to 
someone else. Some persons would have fifteen 
or twenty claims. 

Under the pre-emption laws of the United 
States a man i>ould hold by settlement IdO acres 
of land and no more. The Uniteii States 
Homestead Law had not then Kx»n euacttHl, 
These new men were threatening to take the 
claims of others under the pre-emption laws, 
and triMible was likely to ensue. In eastern 
Iowa, mtder the sjime ciuiditions. claim clul« 
had Ihvu ORianizetl, so here, all thought, it 
would Iv liest to regulate the matter, and a 
nnH»ting was calleil at the Terrific House and a 
claim club, with otficers. oi^iuized. Each 
metnWr of the assix'iation was entitleil to take 



one quarter section under the pre-emption laws 
and hold another quarter section as a claim 
which he might enter from the gvwernment or 
sell, thus giving to each man a right to half a 
section, and they agreed to pnnect each other in 
this right, with force, if necessary. They knew, 
of course, that 100 acres was all any one ci^ttld 
hold by settlement under the laws of the United 
States, but the right to the other li?0 was a 
right resting on their club law. and an otitsider 
violated it at his peril. 

The principal men in the towni site company, 
Dr, Cook and Horace C, Bacon, were members 
of this club. An illustration of the re».H^»gnitiou 
of this right was in Gei^Rrt* W. ChamWrlain 
claiming the north half of siH^-tion iS. part of 
the town site. There s<»n came a time when 
the chib was called on to act. and it has its 
plact^ in the history of Siotix City as the 
"Angie War." 

Kicharvl E. Eowe. a single man. had a claim 
to the southwest quarter, seetiou 2:*. range 89, 
township 40. lying Ixnh sides of the Floyd, just 
east of the new Omaha Kailnvid shojvs. and had 
on it a k^ house on the east side of the Floyd. 
He sjiid he had given Henry Angie. a part 
bhxxl Indian, and his family a right to occupy 
this house during the pnwious winter of 1S.">5 
and 1S56. 

Angie was bright enough to understand that 
Rowe had not bought or pre-emptetl the land, 
ami that he as aiv occupant and st^ttler on it 
might ix-rhaps pre-empt it. and refused to vsi- 
cate it at Kowe's request. Si^ the latter ealliHl 
on the Claim Club to help him get jx^ssession. 
It was not a time nor an occasion to resort to 
the cimrts. Angie was notifievl that he must 
vacate or take the ivuseipieiuvs. He ivn- 
sulted his French and Indian friends, of whom 
there was a goodly number then living along 
the Sioux and on the Floyd and Wlow. as well 
as some in Sioux City, and he deoideil to 
hold on. 

^Many versions of this affair have Ixh^u pnlv 
lished. some of these taken from rutuor and tra- 



PAST A\n iM!Ksi.:x'r ov \vo(ii>ni'i!V corxTv sii 

iliiliion. In soiiUM>t' lliosi' ianniiitt; love, iioisun porii'il iliai ;i y.\v\y nt' I'ighr ov ten Fivnclniuni 

anil iloaili aiv iiUrodtu'od as olonu'nls of tho had ronic niiarnuMl to Sang'sti'r"s saloon to 

storv. Kowi' liinisolt' was woll and ali\o ai rlio i|ni'nrli ilicir thirsi. possililv iliinkiiii; ilioro 

time and liis jioisoninj:. insaniiv and death oe- was lo he no li^hl. This was a fatal error I'or 

enrred snhseinientlv. We haxc reeenily inter- Ani;ie"s arinv. ('aptain I'.aeon innnediattdv 

viewed two iiarlieipants in that war, .loseiil\ W. ordered .loseph ^^'. Siexcns and four otiiers to 

Stevens, now of ( 'orreetionville, and Herman surround tiie sahuui and hohl those men there 

D. Chirk, of Xew Ha\en, Conn., and iia\e an while the rest of the partv made an atlaek on 

older inter\iew with lloraee C. iJaeon, who was the house, as it w<iidd lie of i;real ad\anlai;e to 

eaptain of tlie Chiim (Mnli forei's. and our divide the eneniv. So Mr. Ste\'eus. with his 

aeeouiu id' it is largely hased on these inter- party, stationed themsehi's at the saloon. Mr. 

vi(nvs. hesides the areouiu of it written hy 11. I >. ('lark heini;' one of the parly. 

.Vn^ieV dauiiiiters. whieli is added to this ae- The l'"renehmen took some lime to reinloree 

eouu!. their eourai;i' witi\ the ardent, hiil liually were 

The Claim (dnh ealled a meeting;-, eleeted ready lo start lor tlii' seat of war. when they 

llorae(> C. ]>aeon to eommand the eouipany, foniui the door of the saloon elosed and ii'uard- 

and tixed the lime for lakinj:' possession id' the ed. The lirst one to show his I'ai'e was eon- 

elaim. Idle eompaiiy eonsisied of sixly-fonr froiUed liy Mr. Stevens with a re\'ol\cr and 

men. so Mr. r>aeou said, with ritles and shot ordered to remain inside. Findintr themsidves 

giuis. .Vngie, aware id' the proposed attack, nmirmed and snrronii<led, they reniaiuod pris- 

ealled n]ion his Freiieh friends, who assemliled oners till later in the day, when the war was 

at his house. Their eoiiiniaiider was a iarjiv, over. 

tine lookinii' fellow. Wild Kirke was one of The rest cd' the .Vmerieaus weiil toward 

tile FriMiehmen. .1. W. Stevens was sent by .Vni;ie\s house and were ferried o\er the I'doyd 

Captain liaeon as a scout or spy to watch ilie in their hoat. On their way o\er they caplnred 

Aligie house ami report tlu> disposition id' the one of the Frenchmen. Henry (loulel, and took 

forces of the enemy. Stevens svas an old Cali- him aloui; with ihem. Fither liy ilesii;n or 

foniiau and had come to Sioux City throimli accident, a gnu was tired from the cahin ami 

Bacon's influence. He concealed iiimseif in wounded Marsiiall !■'. Moon> sliuhtiy in one 

llie tindier, in liic i-avine and on the Mntl' west knee. 'Idic captured Frcnciimeii was sent for- 

of tiie Floyd, o\-erlookina' llie scene: several ward witli a demand for unconditional snr- 

FreiK'limeu from over on the Sionx passed near render in ten niiinites or an attack would 1h> 

iiim on tlieir way to .Viiiiie's. nuide. 'idns messeiig-ev, witii the enemy iieiiind 

Ste\-eiis said that he stayed and watciied a him, and the danger of being siiot by tiie occu- 

long time and i-ainc hack and reported tiiat ])aiils of the liouse iiefovo liini, sped on in his 

tliore were about forty Friniciiinen assemliled mission, and was tinaliy admitted to tiie liousp. 

about tiie lionsc. Tt was found the attacidng .Vugie, after noon, thinking tiie scare was over, 

force would iiave to Inivi^ a Imat to cross liiem had gone away from llie house, luit got news of 

over tiie Floyd, and this delayed liuan some- the force on tlic^ niarcii and returned lo his 

wiiat till one was procnred and liauled over. home jnst before ('aplain l!acon and his coiu- 

Tiie forces at the proper time were ferried over pany reaclied there. He had iiarricaded the 

at a jioint just nortli of wiiei-c ^[artens ^iiii door, ready for an .-ittack, and was disposed to 

now stands, in a liend of tlie l^doyd, tight. 

.\fier dinner tlie forces wei'e ready to start 'I'iie attacking parly made a llatik niox'ement 

on tiieir march, Iml about iliis time it was re- so as to li'ot out of line from a direct lire from 



812 



PAST AXD PKESKNT OP WOODHrRY COUNTY 



the wiuflow, approached the house and pre- 
pared a battering ram to demolish the door. 
Sonic one from the imtside tired a pistol 
through the window and, it is said, inflicted a 
slight scalp wound on one of the children. 

^Negotiations commenced through the door 
and a sort of truce was declared. The leaders 
of the French party came out and ^Vngie finally 
concluded to surrender his claim for $100, 
which was paid him. 

Possibly, had not the French and Indian 
forces been scattered by the desire for a fresh 
drink, and the American attack had not been 
delayed in getting transportation over the 
Floyd, there might have been serious blood- 
shed. 

Presumably about every able-bodied Amer- 
ican was in the attacking party and all sorts of 
stories have been tuld about it. 

Learning that Harriett Angle, a cri]i]iled 
daughter of Henry Angie, and ilrs. Charles 
Brazo, another daughter, were still li^-ing at 
Santee Agency, ilr. John H. Charles last year 
wrote to them for an account of this event, and 
they sent it to him, and by his permission we 
here give their full communication, which con- 
tains some other interesting historical matters. 
It is as follows : 

EEill.NISCE.VCES OF MISS H.\RRIP:TT ANGIE .VND 
IIEE SISTEK, MES. VICTOKIA BEAZO. 

"War Eagle was a Minnesota Indian, who 
grew u]) on the Minnesota river. When a 
young man he came west to tlic .Tanu^s river an<l 
often visited Fort Pierre, then the most prom- 
inent trading post in Dakota. 

When William Dickson luiilt the trading 
])0st known as Fort Verniilliini, which was 
about 1830, War Kagle made thai his liead- 
quarters. Fort A'ermillion wa^ in the bend of 
the ilissouri, above whei'e Elk Point now is. 

Bruguier came to Fort Vermillion as clerk 
for Dickson. While tlicre he bccanic the son- 
in-law of War Eagle. After Dickson was killed 
Bruiiuicr left Fort Vermillion, moving around 



to dift'erent jaoints. It was in 1849 that he 
settled permanently at the mouth of the Big 
Sioii.x and built his establishment at the place 
where the park now is. It was in 184!) when 
Bruguier settled at the mouth of llie Dig Siou.x 
that War EagU' and iiis clan niaile that his 
heaihpuirters, althougli he hail luuited over tliat 
region for twenty years. 

Previously to the coming of War Eagle to ihe 
Missouri river, the chief who held domain iu 
the region about Sioux City was Pfe-yu-te-sui, 
a Yankton Sioux. The white peojile called 
him Little Dish. War Eagle was n()t the son 
of Little Dish, but was nia<le chief on his own 
merits. 

As to what you speak of as tin- ".Vngie War," 
the Angie descendants, who are (piite numer- 
ous, do not like the term. Their account of 
^Ir. Henry Angie and the claim quarrel is as 
follows: 

]\lr. .\ngie was a ])roniinent man among the 
Frenchmen who were in I he emjiloy of the 
American Fur ( 'om])any on the ^lissonri river. 
He had some Indian blood in him and spoke 
French, English and Indian. For these rea- 
sons he was often employed as guide and inter- 
preter. His wife was a half-breed, Imt not 
of French extraction. Her father was Robert 
Dickson, a Scotch trader, wlui was once a 
colonel in the British army. Mr. Angie was 
witli his brother-in-law, William Dickson, when 
he built Fort ^'('^ulillion. As liis family be- 
came large, he wanted to settle down, an<l did 
so with a numl)er of Frenchmen, wlio o|)ene(l 
farms in tlie neighliorhood of Klk Point, but 
the Yankton Indians nnnle complaint, as their 
title to the land west of the Rig Sioux had not 
been relinquished, so that settlement was 
broken u]i. 

^Ir. Angie went to Minnesota for a time, 
tliat his children might attend schools, which 
Were then being started there. It was in 1854 
that he niove(l his family back to the Missouri. 
He spent the first winter near Sergeants Bluffs. 
The lan<ls there were then oiien for settlement. 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



813 



A st-m-e or more of French families had come 
from Fort Vermillion and elsewhere and were 
oijening farms in the neighborhood. 

There were few iVmericaus who had taken 
claims, too, bnt hardly anyone stayed in that 
vicinity that winter. A man named Townsley 
live<l at Sergeants Bltiffs with his family, and 
two yotmg men named Hiram Nelson and 
Kufns Eowe lived with him. Everyone there 
was taking a claim, and Mr. Angle, desiring to 
make a home for his family, that winter selected 
a claim west of the Floyd, to the east of Sionx 
City. lie bnilt a log honse on it, and in the 
early spring moved his family in it, and that 
stmimer he broke ground and raised a crop of 
corn and tiled on the land. 

That Slimmer came a rush of white settlers. 
The town of Sionx City was laid out and 
claims taken all around. There seems to have 
sprung up considerable race prejudice between 
the white settlers and the French, Avho had 
been there before them and were more or less 
relatc'il to the Indians. 

^[v. ^Vngie was informed, soon after he lo- 
cated, that the claim had been taken before, 
and he should get ofp of it. But no proof was 
given him that either statement was true, so he 
paid no attention to them. 

After awhile he Avas told a l>and of American 
settlers had been organized to drive him off, 
but he did not believe they would do anA'thing, 
and went ahead with his work. His family, 
however, were troubled about the talk and so 
told their Indian relatives, several families 
were in the neighborhood, to get out of the way 
of the troul)le. Some of them, like "Grey 
Face,'" said, "Why, no ; if the Americans are 
going to ]utcli onto you, we will stay and help 
you out.'' But ]\Irs. Angle especially per- 
sisted, and so they left. 

After a while the rumor was started the 
Americans had set the day when they were 
going to come an<l tear down Angle's house. 
The French in the vicinity found out the <lay 
and earlv in the morning all came with their 



guns to Angle's house to defend him. They 
waited around all morning, but no one came. 
Angie had said all the time they would not 
come, and at noon the rest began to think the 
same and scattered off to get their dinner. 
They, howe\'er, left tlieli- gnus in the house. 
After dinner IMr. Angie himself went away, 
and no one was left liut the women and chil- 
dren. 

What was their astonishment in the after- 
noon to see forty or fifty men coming from 
towaril town. Before they got to the house, 
however, Mv. Angie came galloping up from 
anoflicr direction. Jum])ing off, lie ordered all 
the family except the oldest boy to run for the 
brnsli anil hide, and he would stay with the boy 
and defeml the house. 

They all ran out, but Harriett, who could 
not walk, and the baby, whom she was holding, 
and Mrs. Angie, who refused to go. Mr. Angie 
then pulled a big cart across the door, which 
he then shut and barricaded on the inside. 

Then lie lookeil after the guns and kept jieep- 
ing out of the window at the men who were 
walking up, some with guns and some with 
axes. As they came n|i around the liouse ]\Ir. 
Angle became very nuicli exclfcil and declared 
no man would tear his house down wdille lie 
was alive. The crowd came up arnuiid the 
house and some of them leaned against it, but 
-were slow about doing anything. He wanted 
them to commence, so he took his gun and fired 
it into the floor. The men then ran and got 
behind a shanty that stood near by. From 
there they commenced tiring at the house. The 
folks inside kept out of range of the door, but 
the splinters flew In their faces, ilr. Angie 
was then determined to return the fire, l>ut his 
wife and son lield on tn liini so he couldn't. 

After a while the flring quieted down and 
they could hear the men talking excitedly. It 
ajipears that one of tlie Frenchmen named 
Goulett had come u]i ami was trying to make 
some com]n-omise with them and have it set- 
tled iieaceablv. He did not want anv bloodshed. 



<s!l I'AS'I' .\\1> I'KKSKNT OF W ( )()i )r.l I! V COI'NTY 

TIk'11 he went \n llic duur iiiiil waiiU'il ill. "niir" ( 'nivc-ii ;il lli;il timo -vvns n regular vis- 

Aiiiiii' iliil mil waul aiiviuic Id ciiiiic in. lie ilm'. 

waiiird Id liiilil ii dill hiiiiscir. lliii (idulrll Mrs. SangsUT gives some iiifoniiai idii, in 

was liadly tViuiileiiecl ami lici;i:cil id he lei in. pari a sdiiiewliaf (litfereiit versidu df ildwe's 

'I'liey lei llilll ill. Tliell lie Waiiled .Vlii;ie Id illness. Id llie elVeel llial KdWe was lidaniillg 

leave. lie saiil il was llie diily way Id saw al .\ii-~lin C.ile's lidiel ami llial an Imliaii liirl, 

IVdiilile. lie waiileil .Viii^ie Id name sdiiie siiiii We Wasliiia. wlid wailed dii ilie lalile tliero, 

he WdiiM lake Id leave. l!ut Augie diil iidl was per-nadeil liy a friend of llie .Kngies to 

wani Id sell. He liegged him to do so, lull lu' inil |idisdn. Sdiiie Indian drug, iiild Kdwe's 

wdiild mil. Then Iwd nr ihree of ihe .\iiier- enlVee. and llial, edneealiiig llie vial edntain- 

icaiis came Id ihc .Idur and wauled Id eenie in ing il in her slee\-e. she seerelly iidiired it in 

and lalk il d\er. .\llgie ilid lldl waill Id lalk his CdtVee, willl ihe resiill ihal he lieeaine sick, 

il d\-er, hill llie family lei llieiii ill. They said his mind alTeeled. ami ihal he weiil lidiiie and 

ihey had Cdlleeled frinii llie emwd $101), wliicdi laler died. 

ihey had in llieir hands, and they wauled .Mr. The jidsldtiiees were estahlished al Sergeants 

.Viigie Id lak<' il and save I i-diilile. hill he wmild lllnlVs ( 'ily. willi l.ediiard liales as |idst- 

iidl. His wife waiile<l peace and Iried Id gel inasler, and al .SimiN ('ily. willi 1 Ir. .Idlin K. 

him Id dd sdinelhing, Iml he did mil waul id he Cddk as puslniasler. in lS,">.'i, jii-dhahly llie due 

dri\-eii dtT ihal way. A\'lieii ihey cdiihl mil gel al Sergeanls iJInirs a shdrl lime hcd'ere ihe 

him Id dd anylhing they put the niduey in his eiher, Iml iidCdulract had het'ii let fdi- carry ing 

wile's hands and llie crowd disjiersed. When llie mail freiu ('<iiiiicil iJlurt's, and tlicy had to 

.Mr. .\iigie cddjed <ill' he conehidod disereiidii depend du special cdu\eyauccs or persons who 

was ihe lieller pari df \aldr and gave up his weiii Id ( 'diincil Hlutt's for freight to bring up 

claim. till' mail hags. Dr. (_\iok is said to have car- 

ddsi'ph W. Sie\'cus fnrllier repdrle(l ihal rii'd ihe mail ardiind in his hat for delivery, 

afier ihe mailer was adjnsied ihal day willi When Dr. S. P. ^'edmalls was on his way to 

.\iigie, ami llie meiuliers nf llie allaeking pariy Sieiix ('ily in lS."i."i lie finind al ('diineil IJlnfTs 

relumed lo Idwii, sduie df I hem weiil lo Sang- a large iiiiiiih<'r ef mail |idiiches frdin the (ien- 

Ster's saloon lo eelehrali^ llieir vielory and the eral Land ( )llice at Washiugldii, I ). ('., with 

lioac(>ful setlleinelil. The k'naiehmiai wdio had his hind dlliee hddks and supplies, hiil was Idld 

heeii imprisdiied ihei'e tixecl sdine sdrl nf pdisun llicre was Ud puhlic cdn\-eyaiice Id lake llielii lo 

in a pail of whisky, willi whiidi ihey Irealecl Sioiix ('ily, sd he pi-e\ailed on the Western 

iheir lale .\merieaii eiieinies, and all wild drank Siage Cdinpany l<i send up a stage for him- 

aiiy greai cpianiiiy were taken sick, some se- self and his mail hags. The journey occupied 

\er<dy. One man died ami Kichard !*",. Rowe, twd ilays and was the first stage that came into 

ihe mail aheiii whose claim llie Irdiihle origi- Sinitx ('ily. in I he cmirse >>( the wintm' tliis 

naled, heeanie se sick llial he ne\er recd\-ered, stage company ]iul dii a regular ediiveyaiiee 

liis mind heing alTecled. llewe went away and and mail rdute. 

died lldl Idiig after. The lips df several lA' ihe i'"(ir a Imig time 15. M. Vv/.vy carried the 

]Kirty swelled fiMiii llie etl'ecls of the drink. mail and di<l ihe errands along the reule. He 

Il has heeii said llial lldwe had heeii some- was a nalix'eof i-^ssex cdiiiity, Kngland, coining 

whal alleiitive to X'iiinria .Vngie, which was to America when a hoy. and liad driven stage in 

llis reason for alldwing .\iigie id nid\i' into his llliiidis. He was a (piiel, soher man, who nnide 

house, hnt lliis is denied. Thai sn far as \'ie- im iidise and was faithful ami aitenlive to his 

toria Inniini' lo\-ers in the .\iiierican colom-, duties and was \-aridUsly called " Preacher" and 



PAST AXi) iMfKsMXT ()!•' \V()()l)l!^l;^' corN'rv 



si; 



"Old Koliahlc." 'I'hc iKinlships .,r such a life 
were i;rc:il. llic r^ad almii: llir Missciiri linlliHil 
licilii;' at liliirs licirrilili'. 'I'lir stol'V was told 
of liini iir s(iinc like di-i\ri' wlm was expected 
from ('oiini'il J]lutVs willi liis mail and iiccilcil 
jiriivisioiis at a time wlicii tliry wci'i' nearly 
iiut <if siiji]ilics, llic liiiiii;r\- |icu|ili' were wail- 
ing bis arrival. Ai last dri\<'r and wagmi a])- 
peared, covered willi mud, and willi im tVeiglit 
lint a siTiglo l)ai-rcl ul' whisky, and with the Vf- 
piii-t thai ihi' rnads wcrr su had that he had 
been obliged to leave his frcighl of Honr and 
other provisions from time to time ajdiig thr 
road and bad to take choice of what lie would 
bring through, and the waiting com2>any at 
once voted his judgment correct. Mr. Pizey 
is still living at Dakota City, Xebraska, at the 
good old age of eighty-four. 

We have spoken of the raili-oad grant wdiich 
was passed May 14, 1850, granting land to 
the state of Iowa in aid of a railroad from I )u- 
liHipie to Sioux City, giving it every odd nnm- 
bered section within six miles on each side of 
the line to be located, and in case of previous 
sale or entry of any of these lands, they could 
take as indemnity for those so lost other lands 
in odd numbered sections within lifteen miles 
of this line, and as it would lake some time 
to locate this line to fl.\ these limits within 
which the land could be locatec], and in the 
meantime a large amount of it wonhl be en- 
tered by individuals, the parties interested 
procured an order from the General Land 
Office to suspend further cash entries and pre- 
emptions in the ])rospective district or limits. 

The state eai'ly in .Tuly, 18.">4, granted these 
lands to the I)idin(|ni' and Pacific Railroad 
Comjiany. So Sion.x ('ity had secured a pros- 
pective railroa<l whose munificent land grant 
seeiued to assiire a sjieedy building of the I'oad 
and promised a great future for the town. 

They little realized that the jianic of 18.57, 
the war, and naliii'al delays woidd postpone 
the cdniplelion rif ihi> road fnr ihirteen years 
as, in fact, did ocnn'. The Sionx Citv en- 



thusiasts (,r those days saw a greal I'niure for 
the town, and town lots held a high value; sales 
were mostly made for cash and money lenders 
got a high rate of interest. 

Persons who wei'e in Sionx ('ity fi'mn 188G 
to isDii know how, with a natural rapid gi'owth 
and development of the town, real estate jUMces 
I'ose rapidly. Jjut it seems bard to believe that 
with so very snnd! a town in 1S.")(; jieople conhl 
heeome so sanguine of a great growth and fabu- 
liins values of town lots. To the new comer the 
natives seemed crazy over prices of town lots, 
but they soon V)ecame as crazy as the rest. 

At the beginning of IS.",!; the mercantile 
business in Sioux ('ity was on a snndl scale. 
Charles Sangstei' had but a snnill st<.ck, and 
White and Copeland's tent expandeil into a 
store that was not ninch larger. There was no 
building material at haml except logs. 

.\s ])art of the plan of promoting the town it 
was necessary to have a saw mill, the nearest 
one being thai id' Watts k liolnnson at Ser- 
geants Jjlnft's, which was inadeipiate for a 
growing tow)i. Then the freighting of mer- 
chandise from ( 'ouiicil Uluffs was too expensive 
and tedious. Steamboats did not then make 
regular trips up the river, except the .\inerican 
Fur Company's boats or those chartered for 
go\-ernment frcught. 

S(i .lames A. .Fackson, one of the town i)ro- 
molers, a partner in the firm of Tootle iV Jack- 
son, having stores at Omaha and Council 
Blutt's, went to St. Louis and chartered the 
steanib<iat Omaha for a trip to Sioux City, i)ay- 
ing the captain, it is said, $24,000 for the trip, 
with a cargo valued at $70,000, two-thirds of 
which was for Sionx City, the rest foi- their 
stores below. 

'J'his freight consisted of a saw mill and 
(■(piipment, furniture, dry goods, hardware and 
groceries, needed for a general store. We have 
now before ns the bill <if lading for the saw 
mill eqtiipment shipjied un that boat, which was 
iireserveil bv Sanborn iV k'ollett, who after- 



816 



PAST AXD rUKSKXT OF WOODBURY COUXTY 



ward bought the saw mill. It is from Kings- 
lauds & Fergiison's Phoeuix Foundry at St. 
Loiiis, billed to Tootle & Jackson, Sioux City, 
ou steamboat Omaha, Holland, master ; Kirehi- 
val, clerk; dated IMay :-'l, ls.")(!, eiiunieratiiig 
boiler, engine and chimney, in all forty-six 
pieces and weighing 20,050 jtouuds. 

This was the first steamboat arrival, occur- 
ring early in June, and furnished tlie j)lace 
with many much needed supplies. !Mr. Jack- 
sou remained several weeks and left his store 
in the hands of Samuel Holland, probably the 
one who apj^eared as master of the boat in the 
bill of lading, and later they shipped from St. 
Louis lumber for a store, already framed, and 
erected it at the northeast corner of Second and 
Pearl streets, the first frame store to be erected 
in Sioux City. 

We might say here that afterward umny 
buildings Avere shipi^ed here in the same way, 
the lumber already framed, some of which are 
yet standing; part of these were built liy the 
town company and sold. The saw mill was 
speedily erected by the company at the north- 
west corner of Second and Water streets, the 
building that contained it still standing there, 
and this saw mill became a great factor in the 
early growth of tlie town, ^lany logs had been 
cut the winter Ixdure. Tt was operated for 
the company that season, Joseph B. Flagg, 
John F. Ward, Luther C. Sanborn and J. W. 
Stevens at different times being engaged in it. 

December fi, ISofi, when the company di- 
vided its lets, they also divi<led the sawed lum- 
ber on hand and agreed among themselves to 
use^eonsiderable of the i)lank in building side- 
walks in front of their projierty to give the 
town a nunropolitan ajipearance ; some of them 
were accused of violating the agreemeiu and 
using it for building pnrjioses. 

The mill itself was s,,ld to Ward. Flagg il- 
Sanborn, without the ground, for $r;,nOO and 
the logs for $.-)60.47. an-l Ward and Flagg soon 
sold their interest to J. L. Follert, and the new 
firm of vSanborn iV Follett ojierated it for over 



twenty years and existed as a co-pai-tnership for 
over forty years. 

The price of lumber was high in those days ; 
one may says he jjaid $110 a thousand for the 
little pine lumber he used for the window and 
door casings for his house, otherwise built of 
Cottonwood. 

The mercantile business centered in thpse 
early j-ears along the levee from Douglas to 
Water street and up Pearl to Fifth street, and 
soon the real estate and other offices were lo- 
cated on Douglas street from Fifth to Seventh 
streets. 

The residences were chiefly above Fifth 
street, as the ground was miich higher and drier 
there. Until the streets were raised and graded 
in later years, there was a well defined bench, 
as it was called, of about a four-foot rise in the 
ground just north of Fifth street, extending 
from Perry C'reek east and crossing Fifth 
street south at about Jackson street, and then 
going east again, and just south of this bench 
the grotmd was lower than farther south toward 
the river, making a sort of slough, and one 
of the early improvements was to fill in Pearl 
street across this low ground. Above the bench 
good well water was fotind, but below that shal- 
low wells furiiish(>d very jioor water. The 
bench line had evidently once been the bank of 
the river and been tilled in again. 

Sjiace will n(it pei-niit of a detailed continti- 
ation of the history of the county; much of it 
will be found in the individual biographies of 
the older citizens, and records of it are pre- 
served . 

The panic of June. IS.TT. stopped the great 
immigration, and so far as the town's popula- 
tion was concerned it was out of business. The 
real estate business was dead; professional men 
trieil farming and stock raising to help out 
their incomes, and many of those who could 
raise money enough left. 

Sergeants Bluffs tried to keej) up its courage 
and did not acknowledge itself defealed by the 
loss of the countv seat, the establishment 



PAST AXD PIJRSEXT OF WOODr-FRY COrXTY 



817 



the riiited States Laud Office at Sicmx City 
ami tln' land grant for the railroad there. So 
far as wagon communication with the rest of 
the world was concerned, that town was the 
nearest to Council Bhitfs and to the country 
east, by Avay of Sniithland, and they had their 
ferry across into Xebraska, and in the spring 
of 1S.")7 Dr. C'rockwell got a steam ferry boat 
from Omaha and ran it that year. It was 
first run by a man named Xichols on July Ith, 
that year. Tliey had a steamboat excursion on 
this craft, going up the Bix Sioux, and a dance 
was one of the features of the i^arty. 

They also started a newspaper, probably in 
August, 1857, the Western Independent, 
spoken of by some as the Sergeants Bluffs In- 
dependent. It was published a few months and 
then M'ent to Siiinx City. 

Sergeants Blntl's had a store early in 1856 
kejit by a man by the name of Harry Lyon, 
possibly the first in the county, and the first 
sermon there was preached in that store by Kev. 
William Black, early in 1856, and the boys 
then were as irreverent as now, as some of them 
were playing cards under the store cotmter 
while the sermon was being delivered. 

A saloon was started in the town by Joe 
Otten, and as he indirectly contributed to the 
naming of one of the streams of the connty, we 
might here speak of the original names of some 
of these streams. 

There had come to be considerable travel 
from Smithland to the west end of the county, 
which mostly followed along under the bluff 
as it came down to the bottom land, but there 
were no bridges across the streams. So it was 
agreed by the citizens at each settlement that 
they would at a given day meet at what is now 
the Big Whisky and bridge this stream and the 
one next west. 

The Sergeants Bluffs people notified all able- 
bodied men who cotild go to be on hand, among 
them Joe Otten. Either he thought his busi- 
ness would suffer in his absence or that kind of 
work would not agree with him, but he offered 



instead to furnish s(.)me whisky, and that day 
came over to W. P. Ilolman's hotel to get a 
jug to ])ut it in. ('. J. Ilohnau, then a good 
sized boy, found a jug and took it over for 
Otten to fill, but Otten found himself short on 
whisky and then added brandy Xd fill it up, and 
this went with I he ]iarfy. 

When they met the Smithland bridge build- 
ers the latter were pr<i\ided with a keg of 
liquor, which was first used by the whole party, 
anil the i)ridge was completed over the larger 
stream that day and the whole party camped 
that night on higher ground between the two 
streams. It was warm fall weather and they 
were all tired, the water Avas poor and mos- 
quitoes were bad, and as there were about two 
dozen in the party the keg was exhausted before 
lied time, and they called for the little jug, 
as they called it. in contrast with the larger 
three-gallon kt'g, and this mixed liipun- was too 
much for most of the party, and, as one of them 
later expressed it, they were soon drunker than 
lords. One of the Sharp boys from Sergeants 
Bluffs first called the keg the Big Whisky and 
the jug the Little Wliisky, and before they 
[larted, by unanimous consent the two streams 
were eallecl the Big and Little Whi.sky, which 
names remain to this day. The party were so 
disabled liy this night's work that they all went 
home without building the bridge over the Lit- 
tle Whisky. 

Elliott ('reek was named after Alexander 
Elliott and his brothers, who settled on that 
stream. 

(Jamp Creek was so named from it being a 
favorite ])lace for camping over night, or for 
meals on the journey from Smithland west. 

^^ olt ( 'reek was named at an early day from 
wolves l)eing seen frequently in that vicinity. 

Pearson Creek was so named from an early 
settler near Correctionville, Moses H. Pearson. 

The Little Sioux Valley had its Indian trou- 
bles. The winter of 1856-1857 was a hard one 
for all ])arties. The snow was deep, the food 
scarce, game hard to find, and the Indians suf- 



818 



I' AST AND I'UKSEXT OF WOODBURY COUNTY 



fcn-il luore than the rest, and knowing there 
were nnlv a few whites, tliey were inclined to 
1h' insok'Ut and thie\ish. 

The Inkpadntah hand, that camped aho\-e 
Smithland that winter, was said to be a sort of 
renegade lot from the Winnebagos and Sionx. 
These Indians claimed they fonnd some corn 
nngathered in the tield nnder the snow and 
scraped ntl' tlie snow and got a blanket lead of 
it. The whiles discovered them carrying it and 
accused them ef theft, which th<' Indians de- 
nied. Su tlie whites determined to get rid of 
tlieni ami organized a band of twenty-one men 
and elected Seth Smith, who lived just over the 
line in ilonona connty, as captain, he being the 
owner iif a fine snit of militia regimentals. 

These men went to the Indian camp and 
ordered them to leave. The Indians made ex- 
cnses for delay, said they wanted to go to visit 
the Omaha Reservation and make peace. The 
whites, to make snre of safety, took the guns 
away from the Indians, and it Avas claimed 
that some of the whites strnck some of the In- 
dians, either then, or abont that time. The 
Indians left, going north, committing depreda- 
tions on the way, and finally ending with the 
famons S]urit Lake nnissacre. The Indians 
were in a mood for tronble, bnt fonnd this 
Smithland ctdony too well prepareil for action. 
The names of the men in this company, so far 
as could be recalled in after years, were, Seth 
Smith, captain, and O. B. Smith, Eli Lee, ^l. 
L. Jones, Edward Howe, John Howe, Eli Boyil, 
Jim Kerby, William Tnrman, Wesley Ttir- 
man, John Kinnea, Thonuis Xagle, i[. B. 
^lead, Thomas l)a\is, John Floyd. Thomas 
BoM-ers, Jonathan Leach and A. Livermore. 

Tlie names fnrnish a ])artial list at least of 
the inhabitants at that time. 

'I'he Spirit Lake massacre caused great un- 
easiness all through the country, and further 
trouble was feared, but there were too many 
settlers, ami the ban<l was too snutll, and the 
U])rising did not spri'ad to other bodies of In- 
dians. 



Aft(.'r the panic of 1S.")T there was much to 
retard the settlement of the country. The 
War of tlie llebellion engaged the attention of 
the whoh' Country, and called for just that 
class of men that go into a new settlement, and 
it left the Indians without the usual amount of 
restraint. 

In the early days a snuill detat'hment of 
United States troojis had lieen stationed across 
the Sioux in Dakota Territory, and some of 
the officers became interested in Sioux City 
property. General Lyon was one of these. 

Early in 1861 rumors of depredations by 
Indians came from various quarters and peo- 
ple from the country north moved into town. 
The people thought they had better organize 
a company to pri>tect themselves, and wrote to 
the Governor. The petition was circulated 
ancl sixty-seven names signed agreeing to join 
the company, and they were ordered to elect 
officers. William Tripp was elected Captain, 
Dr. W. R. Smith, 1st Lieutenant, A. J. Mill- 
ard, I'nd Lieutenant, and J. W. Stevens, 1st 
Sergt'aut. It was ])ractieally a mounted com- 
pany, each man furnished his own horse, and 
they charged up their time only when on duty, 
anil their equipment and commissary outfit 
was after frontier rather than military order. 

The first expedition was u]i the Sioux to 
Bock river, where there was a rumiu- of In- 
dians. Lierttenant Smith was in command 
with 1.5 men, wagons for stipplies, but no tents. 
The ]iarty returned, having seen no Indians. 

Another expedition went to Sioux Falls and 
Spirit Lake but the enemy was not encounter- 
ed. There were 24 men in the party and they 
carried their tents in one wagon. Xear 
Spirit Lake they came to a place showing signs 
of Indians, and followed their tracks from an 
American horse with a shoe on one foot which 
they had, biu the trail suddenly ended. John 
Currier was accidentally slightly wounded in 
the hip on this trip in jumping into the wagon 
and in some wav discharn'ina' his atm. 



PAST AND PliKSKXT OF WOODIU'KY COUNTY 



819 



Karlv in ISiU tlicrr was a repoit of Indians 
on the Little Sinnx. ami the eouipanv went 
over to Sniithlainl and ou tip the Little Sioux 
to t'orreotionville, hearing of Indians Imt not 
encountering aiiv. Thev were met bv another 
company of men nuder Captain ilortou, from 
about Melbonrn in Plymouth eonnty. Small 
parties of men were detailed to the different 
houses around the Correctionrille settlement to 
act as guards for the night. Sergeant J. W. 
Stevens, with Isaac Pendleton, William 
Eoberts, X. W. Pratt, Adam Fanlk and per- 
haps one more, were sent to the hotise of ilor- 
ris Kellogg, near the Sioux. 

In the night the Indians were observed chas- 
ing horses in the pasture, trying to catch them. 
The soldiers' horses were in the log barn near 
the house, the door of which was closed with a 
chain. The Indians came toward the barn, 
seven of them, and as Sergeant Stevens said, 
when the first one came around the barn in 
sight, he warned the men at the house not to 
shoot until all of them came in view in front 
of the barn, but William Poberts got excited, 
and by accident or nervousness discharged his 
gun in opening the door. This drew the tire 
of the Indians into the door. Roberts was shot 
in the breast, from the effects of which he 
■died about four months afterward. ^Ir. Pcn- 
delton was shot in the forehead with a ball 
which glanced, inflicting a flesh wound. Tiit 
Indians then fled down the river bank out of 
sight. It is said that ^Ir. Pendleton, who was 
afterwards District Judge, was angered the in- 
stant the ball hit him, and instantly ran out of 
doors, calling upon his associates to charge, but 
the enemy was out of sight. As soon as it was 
light enough the company started in pursuit, 
following the trail most of the day. 

Shortly after the affray at Correctionville on 
July nth, Henry Cordua and Thomas Roberts, 
a brother of the William Roberts shot at Cor- 
rectionville, two much esteemed citizens, went 
out from Sioux City with a wagon to gather 
some new potatoes in a field in Bacon Hollow 



aliont a mile east of Greenville, and sottth of 
ihe Correctionville road. 

The men not returning that night, their 
wives becanu> anxions and wi'iit to their friends 
but it was not deemed prudent to go in the 
night, so in the morning at daylight several 
members of the military company went out 
to try to find them. They first found the 
wagon, the horses being gone. Cordtia was 
fonnd first. He was lying on his back, his 
fingers gripped in the armlioles of his vest. 
He was shot in the stomach, and the grass was 
tramped dowu for a rod square, probably by 
him in his death struggle. Roberts was fotind 
next by J. W. Stevens. He lay with his leg 
cnrled under him, his hand on his heart: shot 
ilirough the back, the ball lodging in the j^alm 
of his hand, and a ftill pail of water by his side. 
He evidently had gone down to the creek for 
a jiail of water, and was shot on his way back, 
about the time they were getting ready for din- 
ner. 

The comjmny started at once in pursuit and 
followed the trail up aliove where Le!Mars is, 
and cami)ed that night, having had nothing to 
eat that day, having started before breakfast. 
Captain Tripp thought under the circum- 
stances it was useless to pursue farther, so tne 
]iavty returned home. 

In the fall another expedition was made to 
Si)irit Lake by a company, stopping some ten 
days at Cherokee, but encotiutered no Indians, 
and then this company was disbanded as an 
organization. It was never mtistered into ser- 
vice. It had received from the Governor about 
forty muskets of the old Harjier's Ferry make. 
It had answered its purpose, and had protected 
the settlements, and ma<le the mving Indians 
shy of this region. 

Captain A. J. Millard in the summer of 1861 
organized a company properly called the Sioux 
City Cavalry Company, recruited from this and 
other cotmties, which operated in this jjart of 
the state against the Indians in 1861, 1862 and 
1S6.T; went with General Sully in his expcdi- 



820 



PAST AND PRKSKXT OV WOODlUIiY' COUNTY 



tioii aji'iiiiisr tlic Inilians in Dakota as his body 
liiiar.l ami af tiic liattlc of Wlictstonc Hill took 
i:i(i prisoners, and later that year were i-oiisoli- 
ihited with the Seventh Iowa Cavalry as Com- 
|iaiiy ■■!" and remained about kSioixx City till 
niiisfered out in the fall of ISCA. 

T^ews of the New Ulni, Minn., massacre 
reached tlu' nearer settlement at Aliiiina in the 
latter pari of Auiiuist, ISCi:,', and the citizens 
held a meetinj;', at once a volunteer conifjauy 
was raised, and a committee was sent to Ues 
ifoines to jirocnre from Ciovernor Kirkwood 
arms and animnnition, and for authority to ])ut 
the couijjany in proper form ; they sent another 
committee to Minuesota for information as 
to the massacre and threatened danger. In 
view of this and information from other ])laces, 
Governor Kirkwood on August 29, 1862, made 
an executive order authorizing S. R. Ingraham 
of Des iloines, Iowa, to take charge of the 
work of jirotecting the northern frontier, prom- 
ising to send arms and animnnition to B^ort 
Dodge and placed $l,OU0.00 at his disposal for 
use w'here it might be needed, and advised him 
to communicate with Captain .\. J. MiHai-d of 
Sioux t^ity, commanding a company of mount- 
ed men raised for United States service. The 
Iowa Legislature was in extra session and 
authorizing the raising of troops, and Se])tem- 
lier 12, lS(i2, Ciovernor Kirkwood issued an 
order for the raising of fiA^e companies, one at 
Sioux City, and for the election of officers and a 
identenani ('ohinel. The men were required 
to furnish their own horses. Five companies 
were raised from Woodbury and Monona coun- 
ties, conunanded by (^aptain Jerome M. White. 
This company was enlisted September 27, and 
mustered in October 7, 1S62. 

.Tam(>s A. Sawyer of Sioux City on JSTovcnn- 
ber 7, 18'"i2, was elected Lieutenant Colonel by 
the men to conuuaud the five companies. He 
had served in the Mexican war in Company E, 
Tennessee Cavalry, had enlisted in the Sioux 
City Volunteer C\Tvalry on Se]itendier 27, 18fil, 
to go South, but his comjiany was re(|uired for 



frontier service. He had been elected First 
Lieutenant in ('aj>tain ^lillard's company un- 
til August, 1862. 

Lieutenant Sawyer in Sepienilier was at 
Spirit Lake in temporary comnuuid of ( 'aptain 
ilillard's company in September when the first 
companies were being raised. Fp to the time 
of the election of Colonel Sawyer the troops 
and all arrangements were in charge of S. R. 
Ingraham. 

These trooj)s were distributed from Ksther- 
ville, Iowa, to Sioux City, those nearest being 
at Correetionville, West Fork, Sioux City, and 
ilelbourn in Plymouth county, opposite where 
Ilinton now is, and acted with Captain Mil- 
lard's Cavalry, part of wdiom were at Sioux 
('ity and part at Spirit Lake. 

As is usual in stick cases, the rumors of dan- 
ger were often the worst farthest from the real 
seat of war, and all the settlements in Xortli- 
western Iowa were thoroughly alarmed. A 
stockade was built at Correetionville. 

Colonel Sawyer, soon after his election, in- 
spected his line of frontier stations, and De- 
cember 12, 1862, reported to the Governor, and 
signed his repoi't as Lieutenant Colonel (Com- 
manding JSTorthwestern Frontier Forces, but 
when the commissions to the officers were re- 
eclveil soon after, there appeared after the 
name of the com])any the letters "N. L. B." 
without further explanation. ISTathaniel B. 
Baki'r, Adjutant General of Iowa, was written 
to for information as to their meaning, and he 
playfully rej^lied that they stood for N. B. Bak- 
er, or Northern Border Brigade, just as you 
choose, so in Iowa history these troops are 
known as the Northern Border Brigade. 

There was no I iMid>le with the Indians that 
fall or winter, but in ^larch, 1863, news came 
that the Indians had massacred a jiarty of 
sevim Norwegians in ^linn^'soia, and this 
brought out rumors of Indians all along the 
line. Colonel Sawyer made re])orts to the 
(l()\'ernoi' from time to time, ami one of Ajiril 
7, 1863, concerns Wooilbnrv cuunty. Septem- 



PAST AND PIJESEXT OF WOODBUKY COUNTY S31 

lici' iTi, lS(i:!, Adjutant (iciicral Ijakcr issiie<l Hal Imat that was used as a ferry across the 

an (irdci' disliandinii' the lirigaik', hnl orderinf;' river inaileipnife and niisatisfactory, iu the 

a new eunipany te he erganizecl ont ef their sprini;' of l^.'iT liduglit a steam ferrv l)oat called 

fcirees. Captain Jerome il. Wliite with nearly tlie Lewis linrns at a eost of ah(int $7,000.00. 

all his men in ('(inijiany "E" remained and he- The |iurcliase was niadi' throngh TcMitle &: Jaek- 

eaine pai'l of the new eompany. son. This hoat was operated for it two or 

In tlu' meantime Brigadier General .Vlfred three years liy i-dijah Kohinson, lait it was a 

Sully, eommandinii- the United States District losini^- \-entnre. It had })aid only $3,000.00 on 

of Dakota, wdiicdi included sixteen counties in the pnndnise price and owed the balance, and 

Xorthwestern Iowa, had his lieadquarters in .Vuniist I'T, 1S.'>'.>, got an extension of one year 

Sioux City, and from ()<-toher, 1863, to the end hy giving a note for the balance of $3,827.02, 

of the year he and the Adjutant General of secured by a mortgage on its lots in the Chani- 

lowa exchanged coniinnnications wdiereby the ln-rlain |iurchase, and lost them under fore- 

Euited States ( 'avalry took charge of the de- closure later. 

fense, and December 30, 1863, this last com- Seth E. Swiggett came from Cincinmiti 

jiany of state troojis was mustered out of the j,, April, ls.")(i, bringing with him press and 

^'■i'\'i<'C- material for starting a Aveekly newspaper. Tlie 

These troops wer(> in the service and pay of tirsi number was dated July 4, 18.'')7, and was 

the state, and though the United States was mimed the Sioux City, Iowa. E]agle: a complete 

]ii-oiecling the frontier against Indians it would hie of this ])aper is in the ])ublie library, and 

not pay these Iowa soldiers, or give Towa credit contains much (d' iiLterest. This was probably 

for theiii n])ou its ipiota for soldiers for ]nitfing the first paper published iu the county, though 

down rebellion. Xo doubt the thorough or- Sergeants Elntfs was not far ludund, as Cum- 

ganization of the troops anil I heir jji-eseuce pro- mings iV Ziebach commenced the jmhlication 

tected this section from Indian raids and out- of the Western Independent there in August, 

rages, which otlierwise would have lieen perpe- 1S."'7. I'^iies of tliis paper are not preserved, 

trated on the ])eople, and for a tliimly settled so the i^xact date can not be given. F. M. 

connuuuity Woodbury county furnished her Zieliacli, one of the ]iublishers, is yet alive in 

share, and counting also Captain A. J. ilil- South Dakota, and A. M. Holraan, who acted 

lard's comjiany, and those who entered other as printer's devil, still resides at Sergeants 

Iowa regiments that w-ent south, this county has Blntfs. The Eagle in its first issue says: 

reason to be ])rond of her record. "We learn a jjaper is to be started at Sergeants 

.Vmong the things done by the Woodlairy Blurt's," wdiich seems to corroborate the claim 

county paid boriler In'igade were: that the Eagle was first published. After seven 

.\ sfo(d<ade was built at Correctionville, near "i' I'ight nK.nths the outfit of the Western Inde- 

wliere the C. iV X. W. R. B. has its freight pendent was moved to Sioux City, and the 

house. name changed to the Sioux ( 'ity Begister, E. 

.\nother stockade was built at Cherokee. -^I- Zichach being ]iroprietor. Later William 

On tlie Westfork, near the Plymouth and Ereeuy bought it. The Eagle was consolidated 

W Ihury county line, a .letachmeut of the "'ith it in ISCO atid its |)ublication conlinned 

coiujiany nndci' John W. Lewis, Agt.. huilt four ""til ^SCA. 

log bouses and stables iu the fall of 1S62, and The Grasshop])er Invasion.— Probably no 

put u|i hay for their hoi'ses. Some of the com- calamity in llie history of the county so seri- 

pany wintered there. ousl\' art'ected ibe people as th<' long continued 

Tlie Sioux ('ity Com])any, finding that the invasion id' the grasshopper, and it is hard now 



822 PAST AND I'KKSKXT 01' WOUDBL'KY C'Ol'NTY 

tr> rcali/c iluil siu'h a srourge cuulil \>r iiitlicti-d niliers of tluMr kiml a|i|icai- ami rat up auv 

ii|"Mi a |HMi]ilr ami pass away uewv {<> iTiuni. iliiii<i- Icfi. 'J'licn in ilu- smiunci- ilu' ilanjiri' 

lu'sidi'uts lit' the ]ii'escut ilav who wt'n> imf was tliar ilicy wmilil cniiie ajiaiii ami repeat llir 

(■ye witnesses of tlie devastation \\runi>lil liy pmeess. 

I hem ami I heir luigratious ami liahils will After they had hatched out in the spring of 

hai-dly lielieve the true story. 1S(>8 and flew away they did not reappear in 

So far as we ean ascertain they eanie or a]i- any dannigiiig nnndiers till IST:!, and the dan- 
])eared in this eonnty in Angnst, ls."i7. in enn- ger was supposed to he over. l!y this lalier 
siderahle nnndiers. Imt thei-e wa^ little erop date the farming part of tlie eoniniunity had 
planied and tluy did not deposii their egi;s. tilled up eonsiderahly. ami they did great dam- 
ami did no serious dannige. They eanie again age, and eontinned with more or less regularily 
in isr;4 in July, when they neai'lx destroyed nntil ISTl*. 

all cultivated vegelalion, and deposited their 'pi;,. distress from the loss of crops in 1S7:! 

eggs, which were hatched next spring, and \\..,g g^ gj-p.^f ,],.„ p,.tiii,,ns were sent to the 

again the new cri^i) was destroyed. They did U.gislature and an ajipropriation of $,-.0,01 )().()() 

not on this occasion go farther south or c^ast „.,,^ j,^.„i^. ,,, j,,,^. ^,,(,,i „.i;,.,|f f,,,. fi„. ,l,.stitute 

than Sergeants Elutls. Alionf Sejitemlier 8, settlers in Xorthwcstern Towa, and donations 

ISCiT. they ai.]icared in great nnndiers all over „.ere nnide hy puhlic ami private charity to 

Xorthwestern Iowa as far east as ISoone and .,;,! tl,ese destitnte families, who in many cases 

Fort Dodge, coming from the northwest in j,.,,! ],^^f their entire crops. 

clouds so as to look like a continuous fleecv ,p,^^., .i,.,,;^,,^;,,,^ ;„ Woo.lhurv connlv was 

cloud passing ov<.r, and they almost covered the. „,,,,,^,j_ ,,,,j „,^. ,,^^.,^ ,^.^^.]^. ^,,„i,„, ^.^,„.„„ ,„„.,,^ 

ground in phnvs when, they alighted. The „^. c.,„,ectiunville st.ffered most, and il was 

writer has count,.,] titty ,it th..n, on ,ine stalk |,,„_,^^.,, f,^^. ^^^^^^ ^-^^^^ ,^^ •■p„v,.rtv Pud-,.." Tl 

ot ,-orn, ami Ihey would gather ,in the railma.l ^^.^,^ ^, veritable scourge, and nn,nv ahan,lom.,l 

lra,.k in sntlicn.nt numbers to st,ip a ira.n ,it ,,,,,;,. ^-^^^.^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ ,;.,;,nntrv. At tl„. tin,,, 

•ars: that ,s. th,. ,.rushed ho]ip,.rs wouhl so oil „^. ^,^. ,^^^^ i,,^,,,io^,, coveriui.- a large terrimrv. 



ih,. track that tli,. wli,.els cmhl not iii.t sutii- 



it wiiulil seem as if liv some , .0111111011 und,.r- 



ci,.nl holil. Th,.\' ,.anii. down lik,' tiaki.s of , i- 1 ,1 • 1 1 • • . ■ 1 . 

stamhng, or p,.r!ia])s th,' wind ln'ing pist right. 

snow, aii,l ,111 alightiiiii- would eat ,.v,'rvthino'. ^, n ^ <. j ^i • 1 *• j- 1 . r 

=' <" • ^ they all started on their ,le])artiiig flight trom 

cr,i|)s, bark of trees, clothes and wmild ,.at tlii. ,,. ' ^., . -r,^ -m i -.i • ^1 ' 1 

' . ' Sioux C'ltv to ±t. Doda'e within the sam,. hour. 

rough e.\t(.rior of fence boards. 

. . ,, , , , 1 , , . rt wouhl be imiiossibl,' to yiv,' th,. nain,'s ot 

A gram or coi.n ti(.|il w,iul,l l)e consnnii.,l in ' \ 

J- , rp, . , ^ . , all the s,.tll,.rs who cam,' her,, in Is.'iCi; some of 

a t,.w hours. I lii.v might sxn awav in a ihn' 

or two, or stav nnlil thev ,li,.^,l in th,. fall, ,1,-- ''"■'" ="''' •^■^'^ l'^''"- '^^ '^'«'" ='^ '"""^ "^ ""'^'' 

p,>sitiug their eggs in th,. ground, in which "*' f'^' '""'l''''' .^■'■"•■^- ''"'^ "''"'•'' "''"' "■'''''' '''^''^ 

ca.se the eggs liatch,.,l in th,. s]iring ami the 'l'-''" i" thos,. y,.ars are y,'! living. Of tlios,. in 

young grassliop]i,.rs. Ii,.ing th,.n lo,i young to ^i""x City lu.fore IS.-.C. th,.r,. ar,. y,.t alive 

fly, Wfiuld eat th,. young grain an,l i-orn as it C.^'^n■gv .Mnr]diy, Louis 1 ). L,'i,.|li,.r, (i,.orge 

i-am,. uji. Som,. farin,.rs songhl io|irot,.,.| lb,. Weare, Herman 1 ). Clark. Mrs. Mary .\nn 

new ,.rop liy iligi^-ing tri.nclu^s arouml tli,.ir laml Saiigster, .T,iseph Lcmmii^, dr., horn in is.-i.",, 

into wbii'li th,' young grassbo]i]i,'r would jnm]) .rosephine Tcuinais Par,.nl. horn dun,. l."i, 

nnahh. lo g,.| ,int, ami aftei- llii.y w,.r,' ol,l IS.-|.-|, Kos,. I!nignii.i. Hnliois, Jidia lirngnii.r 

I'mMigb, llie lal(,.r pari of ^lay or .Tnn,.. llii-y ( 'ong|.r. li\ing al Vanklon .\g,.iK.y, anolh,.r 

wonlil fly away, ,n' ji,.rha]is com,. Iia,.k, or s,iin,' ilanght,'i. ot' |!i.ngni,'i.. .Mrs. F,ist,'r, li\'cs in 



PAST AXD IMM'lSlvVr Ol' \\()()l)l^.l'l,"i' ((iIXT^' 



893 



Xcw Viirk <'il^. Kiiiiriic liriii:ii ic'i- li\cs ;il licck. ;n'c vi-l ;ili\r. W'l- li;i\c s]iiikcii of iiiaiiv 

Siiiii'liiii;- Kni-k. William aiid Samiirl jlnimiii-r wlm wc-rr iu ilii- romily in |S.">0. 
:irr iiiiw" liviiii; ii]i iIk^ Missoiii-i rivi-r. 'I'lir allulti'il ^paiM- will nut allow us to fol- 

'I'licri- iiKiy lie <uini' oilier snr\'ivors in ilio low ilic jji^ioi'v <pf tlic connty into ihc later days, 

i-csi (if the ronnty. (!il)S(m iJatcs, I Ik- oldest when tlii' pulilir re<'(n-d-- alVord iiiaton'al for 

lix-inii resident (jf tlie eonnty, is yet here, Leon- the historian. We have not aimed to < linne 

ai'd liales. ami hi^ sistei's, ilr<. .Miller and .M i-s. in di-tail after l.'-;."'>(i. 



INDEX 



Ailams, G. E oM 

Adams, Stephen S 253 

Adams, W. H 32i 

Allburn, Mrs. EJizabeth E 386 

Anderson, Gustav' 603 

Andrews, R. J 4ST 

Anthon, F. W 20h 

Arensdorf. John 64 

Arnold, Mrs. A. J 376 

Atkin, John 3»6 

Anst, Dr. T. Herbert HS 

Babue, F. X 471 

Badgerow, Gordon R 392 

Baker, Charles H 465 

Baker, Henry 76 j 

Baker, William M 729 

Bare, E. F 42i> 

Barrett, W. A 73S 

Bauer, James 540 

Baynam, James IS 

Beamer, F. H 36 

Beck, John 168 

Becker, H. S 15v 

Bell, J. D 608 

Benedix, Fred 580 

Bernard, Joseph 658 

Bevington, T. F 468 

Bogue, M. C 665 

Bolton, J. H 535 

Booge, James E 134 

Booher, W. B 241 

Borah, J. N 480 

Boyle, Martin 631 

Branaum, Jay 437 

Brooks, John F 749 

Brothers, Dr. H. N 396 

Brown, E. A 102 

Brown, G. W., Jr 323 

Brune, Henry 48S 

Bunn, J. A 716 

Burkhead. G. W 188 

Butler, Lorenzo 515 

Caldwell, E. W 635 

Carlstrom, M. C 725 

Carter, John R 154 

Cassady, Dr. H. V 5:^ 

Castle, C. C 158 

Chaffee, William 507 

Charles, John H 3i 

Chase, Mrs. Mary A 500 

Chausse, George L 269 

Clark. C. D 237 

Clark, Frank 415 

Clingenpeel. J. M 67 

cobb, James U 601 

Collier, Gen. A. D 6b 

Comoli, P. P 663 

Conard, William 366 

Conklin. William 579 

Connole, D. W 60S 

Coon. W. W 273 

Cooney, F. M 531 

Cooper. Charles 502 

Corrl. M. D 212 

Crafts. T.orins V, 44ii 



Crain, E. L 102 

Crane, Dr. E. H 584 

Crawford, C. A 661 

Cunimings, G. 11 412 

/ 

Uagiiault, Rev. L. P 86 

Darling, Jay N 64!> 

Davenport, W. C 631 

Davis, Madison B 664 

Davis, M. C 48 

Davis, S. T 577 

Davis, Dr. \V. U 26s 

Dayhoff, W. II 402 

Dean, J. A 476 

Dewell, George A 248 

DeWitt, W. R 94 

Dickson, Charles A 35 

Dineen, John 210 

Uott, R. M 675 

Doughty, James 618 

Dove, F. M 163 

Dow, Charles P 624 

Dreeszen, John H 588 

Duncanson, William R 475 

Durst, Godfrey 70a 

Eaton, F. L 194 

Eberly, P. C 520 

Edmunds, Earl 488 

Egger, J. S 721 

Eichelberger, Dr. Agnes 94 

Eisentraut, J. P 284 

Erb. E. W 607 

Estes, W. C 551 

Farr, J. D 648 

Ferris, F. L 110 

Finnegan, William 44? 

Fitchner, George W 153 

FitzGibbon, John 406 

Flanegin, T. E 083 

Flemming, John 539 

Flournoy, R. C. .\ 671 

Flurie, Antoine 497 

Follett, J. L 304 

Ford, William N 69> 

Foye, J. A 80 

Franchere, Dr. F. E 106 

Fraser, Donald 43 

Fribourg, A. L 700 

Frisbie. S. L 223 

Fryer. Samuel 452 

Garber, M. L 416 

Garretson, Arthur S 657 

Garrigan, Bishop P. J 86 

Gere, T. P 370 

Gillett, Henry F 623 

Gilman, F. P 192 

Goldie, Robert 340 

Gordon, William 98 

Greiner, C. E 653 

Groninger, August 352 

Haakinson, Andrew 27 

Haaren, Frank 288 

ITagy, Mrs. Mary E 422 



Hall, I'arincr SilO 

Hallam, J. W 243 

Hamilton, Mrs. Hekn 470 

Hansen, F 39 

Hanson, Nels E 510 

Hart, J. B 231 

Harvey, I. A 627 

Hass, Chris E 55.5 

Hatfield, A. W 571 

Hathaway, Benton 14o 

Hawk, Michael 351 

Hedges, Charles E 234 

Heidelberg, H. L 483 

Henderson, T. G 334 

Henderson, W. II 151 

Herbold, Wilhelm 511 

Hewins, John R 550 

Hills, F. C 142 

Hinds, William 1 688 

Hinkhouse, Henry 69!. 

Hinkhouse, William il 257 

Historical 751 

Hoelker, Joseph 503 

Hoffmann, Oscar A 238 

Hogue, A. W 381 

Hopp, John 124 

Hoppe, William 203 

Hoskins, J. C. C 174 

Houx, Frank T 36 

Howe, Paul C 345 

Hoyt, Charles F 339 

Hubbard, E. H 184 

Huffman, D. W 620 

Hughes, G. F 222 

Hummel, Ferdinand 512 

Hunt. E. M 679 

Hunt, Mrs. Harriet E 191 

Hutchins, James 431 

Ingwerson, James 532 

Jackson, John H 44 

Jacobson, O. E 427 

James. Mrs. Kathryn Hunt 183 

Jenness, L. B 9 

Jennings, B. F 351 

Jepson, C. N 55 

Jepson, George 56 

Jerman, J. 109 

Johnson, Oscar L 269 

Jones. Daniel 63 

Joy. Chauncey L 448 

Keefe, J. J 650 

Kellogg, George M 89 

Kellogg, Leonard L 662 

Kelly, J. C 24 

Kelly, Jeremiah 213 

Kenaley, John 641 

Kerby, D. E 341 

Keriakedes, Alexander 31 

Kimm, Silas ' 608 

Kirk, Mrs. E. R 117 

Knapp, C. A 314 

Knittel, ^. F 479 

Krudwig, William 461 

Kurtz. Henry 148 



826 



PAST AXD PUESENT OF WOODBrEY COUXTY. 



J. o. 



Lambert. S. \' tiSi Pay 

Lawrence, Joseph S 124 

Lee, James :44 

Leek, Levi 101 

Legg, S. D lis 

Leonard, Edwin E 4S4 

Lessenich, Mr. and Mrs. John J . . . . 43» 

Letellier, Louis D 462 

Lewis, C. H 291 

Libby, Mrs. Susan R 492 

Loeb, A. j 283 

Logan, Ernest C 51 

Lowe, Albert L 50* 

Lucas, S. R 67* 

Lytle, C. F 56s Quincy, S.J. 



Pearson, J. C 228 

Peavey. F. H : 294 

Pecaut, E. \V 2SS 

Pecaut, Gustave 233 

Perkins, George D 72 

Peters, E. C 244 

Pierce, H. M 346 

Plato, 231 

Potter, Benton 552 

Prescott, T. C 56 

Price, A. E 595 

Pry, Ambrose 193 



60 



MacDermott, Dr. E. J 62S 

McCornack, F. .V 29» 

McCurdy, T. A 711 

ilcDermott. John 401 

McDonald, James 572 

McLaughlin, Dr. A. J 411 

McManus, A. E -• 30S 

ilcNiflt. John 207 

McOuitty, Dr. W. F 19 

Madden. Patrick 431 

Maddison. Capt. R. T 636 

Madglin, J. E 431 

Manderscheid, John N 129 

Marion. Mrs. E. M 85 

Marks, C. R 6*1 

Markusen, Matt 43J 

Maxeiner, P. W 617 

Meagher, Rev. Timothy 307 

Metcalf. Charles M 342 

Metcalf, L H 303 

Metz, Henry 700 

Meyer. Carl 712 

Meyer, Charles 118 

Meyer. George C 400 

Miller, E. W 270 

Molyneux. F. M 198 

Moore, O. J 324 

Morris, Prof. T. B 122 

Murphy. Dr. G. W 281 

Myers, John 1S7 

Myers. L. R 79 

Myers. William 543 

Nation. W. B 711 

Nichols. Lampman 318 

Nicholaisen. Jacob 248 

Nivling, W. H. H 642 

Nolen, Mrs. Wilhelmin.i 41i 

Nuessle, C. C 419 

Gates, E. VV 261 

O'Connor, Rev. P. J 258 

Oertel. G. F. 734 

Olson, C. A. L 162 

Ostling, Andrew 694 

Parker. Joseph 666 

Patterson. O. A 217 

Payette, Joseph 7G 



Rahn. O. J 415 

Ralston. Thomas H 746 

Rath, August 715 

Rathman. George H 69h 

Ranch. Dr. E. E 342 

Reinhart. Henry 308 

Reinke, Wilhelm 355 

Reinfce, Mrs. M. VV 361 

Reinking. Charles 242 

Reister. H. E 742 

Renne, U. S 180 

Reyman, E. A 726 

Riordan. L. J 556 

Robinson. Judge G. S 214 

Robinson, L. ,A 743 

Robinson. Leonard B 317 

Rose, Frederick J 737 

Rounds, H. M 287 

Rowland, Dr. David C 362 

Ruggles, Charles E 201 

Sadler, A. .\ :U6 

Samaritan Hospital 262 

Sanborn. Luther C 164 

Santee, I. B 247 

Santee, S. H 16. 

Schleier, Rev. H. J 138 

Schlupp, Mrs. ^rary 612 

Seibold, W. F 114 

Seidel, F. H 492 

Selmser. E. E 722 

Selzer, Charles 333 

Selzer, Louis 334 

Selzer, Otto 334 

Selzer, Rudolph 328 

Sevening, Albert 475: 

Shaw, W. K. 
Shay, Joseph 

Shenkberg, C 90 

Sherman, E. D 442 

Sickels, William D 420 

Sims, Howard F 401 

Smallwood. Benjamin 680 

Smith, Asa P 734 

Smith, Mrs. Caroline 372 

Smith, C. K 9» 

Smith, O. B 324 

Smith, Peter 643 

Smith. Rev. R. P 28 

Smith. Samuel E 350 



•;?^ 



Smith, Dr. William R 390 

Sommer, John L 382 

Spreng, Dr. T. F. H 40 

St. Boniface Catholic Church ISS 

Stephens, Louis C -. . ^78 

Stewart, Dr. H. M US 

Stevens. W. JI li, 

Stidworthy. William ISO 

Stinson. Mrs. Whitfield 101 

StoU, Dr. L. S 445 

Stone, L N 144 

Stone, Thomas J 14 

Strief, J. H 4S« 

Sulzbach, F. J 58S 

Summers, P. S SOS 

Sweelev. Marlin T 899 



Tennis, A. H 608 

Thom, George 1 197 

Thomas, Dr. .\delaide E 528 

Thompson, .\. M. C 284 

Thompson, Or. Charles F 560 

Thompson, George S 704 

Tiedeman, Nicholas 544 

Tiffany, Alonzo 549 

Tolerton. O. 672 

Trainer. G. B 587 

Tyrrell. Dr. J. B 274 

Van Dom. A. V 526 

\an Dyke, William W 300 

Van Gorder. Frank 564 



441 



Wade, Dr. C. M 

Wahlberg. Nels 

Wakefield. George W 20 

Walcott, F. E 457 

Waldo. H. F 263 

Walker, .Tames B 519 

Walling, H. B 715 

Warren, T»r. J. N 369 

Watson. John R 643 

Weare, George 684 

Weeks, Dr. .V J 53b 

Westcott, Charles T 264 

Wheeler, E. R 293 

Wheeler, Dr. H. .\ 204 

Whittemore. O^ood 365 

Wilkey, B. F 392 

Williams, John ^». 604 

Willsey, N. A 211 

Wilson, B. F 121 

Wingeland. George K 313 

Winther, Melchior 441 

Wirick, F. L 389 

Wolfe, W. T 375 

Wood, John A 173 

Wood, j. J 61> 

Woodman, Daniel M 405 

Woodruff, F. W 133 

Woodworth. J. N 234 

Woolridge, Charles E -3i 

Wright, Craig L 7 

Wright. George H 559 

Wright. John II 73.-! 



»0 



4* 



y 



I 






w 



f< 



